People Change
by perilouslips
Summary: Sakura has changed over the years. Now the question is, who will actually notice and acknowledge this? SOON TO BE EDITED, LAST TIME, I PROMISE.
1. Wake Up Call

So I went through and revised stuff because there were plotholes and grammar mistakes and it was sad. I was… so inexperienced… and I pretty much still am. Meh. Anyway, enjoy the REVISED VERSION: PEOPLE CHANGE SPECIALTY EDITION.

…PLUS! (ha, I love DDR)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these people. Yay for me!

------------------------------------------------

Wake Up Call

Sakura strolled down the street, attempting to whistle. It was early morning in Konoha village and, while she liked the quiet, a little noise made everything better. It helped her avoid getting bogged down by her own mind. Unfortunately, she had already sunken somewhat into her own head. This would pass, but it might take the whole walk.

See, she was currently on her way to her favorite spot: the bench. She could be found there almost every day at some point, either asleep or just letting time pass.

Of course, everyone who passed her (and who had known about her grand obsession) figured that she was pining after Sasuke; the bench was the very one he'd left her on that night so long ago. And given her abject admiration of him, no one questioned her reasons for being there so often.

People who weren't in the know just thought she was strange.

In truth, she simply liked the location. She hadn't at first, but as the memories faded, a subtle enjoyment had arisen in their place. The sunrise looked lovely from that vantage point, and yet the spot remained shady. It was the perfect place to think.

The hill at the edge of the village _was_ a more comfortable spot, but there were always those early risers who would show up and interrupt her dreaming, day or otherwise. And if that weren't bad enough, most of them had tendencies to watch her and talk quietly amongst themselves about her (so she figured).

Sakura loathed the automatic assumption of people that she only went back to the bench because she was missing Sasuke. She was not so weak that she would _still_ want him to come back, after all this time… Besides, her feelings for him had long since frozen over. It had taken a lot of consideration, but she realized after a while that she didn't need to hang on to such useless emotions. If Sasuke returned to Konoha and suddenly professed great love to her, only then would she let her heart decide about whether or not to fall for him again.

But now was the time to shake herself of thoughts like that. She had arrived at her destination and wished to relax, not grouse about idiots of the past and present. The sun was about to rise on a brand new day.

Sakura left the house so early on account of her mother, who was convinced that Sakura's extra medical training with the Fifth started before the sky was even pink. Little did her mother know how early Tsunade started drinking…

The fact that her mother point-blank refused to accept the Godaime's recent orders for Sakura to take a vacation only increased the girl's desire for a little space of her own.

_All I need is a cozy little apartment with windows facing east… Oh boy, would I love that._

Sakura let out a contented hum as she plopped down and curled up into a little ball, letting herself drift completely back into her sleepy, early-morning haze. The horizon was just beginning to flame, and a nice breeze was blowing through the trees, greeting her with light caresses as it went on its way. She sighed contentedly. Oh, she could have stayed that way forever… And she would have been that way _at least_ until the sun rose fully, but there's nothing like the sound of a shuriken whizzing right past your ear to get the blood pumping.

Sakura nearly flipped into a tree. Feeling half-asleep still, she was having a hard time focusing on exactly where the weapon had come from. Then the thrower stepped forward from the shadows. Sakura blinked in confusion.

_Sasuke?_

She rubbed her eyes violently, but he was still there when she opened them again. A strange urge to throw a pebble or something at him passed through her mind, just to see if he was solid, but she refrained. And still he stood, silently eyeing her, sharingan alive and well in his normally obsidian eyes.

Sakura, still confused as all get out, knelt back on the bench, but not without a certain degree of caution. It may have been Sasuke (she could sense no illusion), but the vibes she was getting weren't friendly.

And still he didn't move, didn't even blink. Sakura swallowed.

"So… How've you been?"


	2. A Slightly Changed Uchiha

I don't own, therefore no one sues. Everyone's happy!

Except maybe the lawyers.

Aww… No new Beamer this month…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Slightly Changed Uchiha

A quirk of his lips was the only answer Sakura got.

"Good? Bad?"

_Evil…_ her mind prompted. Sakura was beyond tempted to ask that, but all thoughts froze as he started to move.

The old Sasuke was a slouching, stoic boy who somehow managed to retain a large amount of grace as he slumped about. The new version remained stoic, but his movements were sinuous and vaguely unsettling, a feeling not helped by his red eyes and the odd grin that was set upon his still-perfect mouth.

For the boy's part, he was only slightly impressed by how life had been treating Sakura. She looked much the same as she had before he left, with her pink hair still short and her figure still paltry. She must, however, have improved a great deal inside, or else he wouldn't be here talking to her. Ah, and it seemed that she had something to say.

"Have you come back to stay then?" Sakura blurted, nerves fizzing all over. This wasn't a good place to be. Sasuke was different in a very bad way. "Did you, uh, kill Itachi yet?"

The creepy smile faded as the mouth uttered a gruff "No".

Sakura was slightly relieved to hear that grumpy but oh so familiar reply. She'd heard it often back in the day, when she continuously pleaded for a date with the handsome boy.

"But I'm working on it." The smile returned and Sakura's eye twitched.

"Surely you are wondering why I've come back."

_Duh_… Sakura reminded herself who she was dealing with and canned the obvious eye roll.

He smirked wider. "I won't go into detail here, but it seems that you, Sakura, could be of some… value…" His teeth glinted in a satisfied sort of way. "Therefore, I've come to retrieve you."

Now she was confused again.

_Valuable for… helping him… kill Itachi?_

Sasuke couldn't _possibly_ expect her to just up and quest with him for his revenge, especially after what he'd done to her and the village all those years ago. And it wasn't like she held a grudge (not really), but it also wasn't like she was still under his natural Spell of Sexiness (as Ino liked to call it). Consequently, she wasn't going to just run blindly back to his side like she would have a few years ago.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, beginning to wonder if perhaps this was all just a dream. Why this thought hadn't occurred to her before, she didn't know, but frankly, the whole situation was just too weird for reality. And she still didn't see how _she_ could help _him _anyway. Sure, she would kill if necessary, but being gentle at heart and a medic nin to boot, she wasn't cut out for assassin jobs. Her strength was put to better uses, in her opinion.

_Besides, I thought he wanted to ice Itachi on his own. I mean, seriously. Sasuke? Humble? Please._

She also dearly hoped he wasn't going to ask her to help him restore his clan; that might just be too sleazy for her to take. And it wouldn't put anyone in a very good place if they laughed in the face of a power-hungry nut with murder on the brain.

"Well," Sasuke began, his eyes never leaving her face, "Orochimaru-sama has heard of your prowess in the medical arts. You are under Tsunade's tutelage, are you not?"

Sakura nodded dumbly.

_He's _still_ training with that snake guy? And the snake guy wants _me

"Then you will be joining me on the trek back to Sound."

Sakura pondered this statement.

"But… you have Kabuto back there," she protested, still not clear on her special status. Her brain paused to think a bit more. Unfortunately, her mouth decided to take a little run.

"Also, since I'm not particularly willing to go anywhere with _you_, I think I'll just stay here."

In hindsight, Sakura realized that perhaps she should have been more careful with her tone. An almost imperceptible tremor of anger shook Sasuke's form as her brush-off took effect.

"For one thing, Kabuto is dead. Killed by a Leaf shinobi even." Sasuke added in a controlled voice, eyes smoldering. "And secondly, you aren't being given a choice. You either come with me or perish there on that bench… but for good this time."

And then he struck.

While he was in the air, Sakura pinched herself hard and got down into fighting stance. Behind her, the real Sasuke grinned as his doppelganger distracted the girl.

_She really should have continued honing her fighting and field skills_, he thought as he prepared to launch at her. _I almost feel sorry for her. This won't even be fun..._

Two throwing stars clipped his bangs at odd angles.

_Oops._

As he hit the ground, Sasuke saw his clone disappear. And then Sakura was on him. Her speed took him by surprise, as did her ferocity. She had gotten behind him before he could realize what was going on.

_Woah! Where has this side of her been all this time? This is a side I could grow to like…_

Still, it's not as if he could let her get the upper hand. It would devastate his plans.

"I guess your feelings for me have changed somewhat, eh, Sakura?" he said silkily, throwing her off into a bush. But she was out of it in a second, pinning him to a tree with a kunai through his collar and another at his throat.

"You're still quite a dish, make no mistake," she growled, showing her teeth, "But if you think I would trade trust and love for looks, you are sadly mistaken."

Sasuke accidentally gasped at this reaction and had to suppress a shiver; he _really_ liked this side of Sakura. It seemed that she _had_ been training. The threat in her eyes made his blood rush furiously, and he almost smiled at her.

"So you've found someone else?" he murmured, holding her gaze, blood-red orbs boring right through her. Sakura's growl faltered a bit.

_No._

She bared her teeth further, but then found them covered up by her lips which were covered by… Sasuke's?

The 1-second kiss threw Sakura for a loop, and was unfortunately one second that could be used quite to her disadvantage. Sasuke shoved her away and activated Chidori.

Sakura, not keying in to the fact that she had seen this attack before (a couple of times), and still being a wee bit hazy from the feel of her first kiss, jumped right back (whether to attack him or his lips again, she couldn't say).

It turns out that attacking was a bad choice. He hit her firmly in the middle of her torso with his chakra-covered hand. Then everything went white.


	3. I Won't Give Up

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I've got an action figure. Close enough, right?

--------------------------------------------------------

I Won't Give Up

Luckily for Sakura, Sasuke's Chidori hadn't been fully formed. This resulted in her being currently bloodied and entangled in a clump of tree branches. Her body ached like nobody's business, but she was still alive… and in danger.

_Damn_, Sasuke thought, _that was weak_. He was still shocked, however, when Sakura leapt down from her perch in a shower of red-tinted leaves. She was bleeding freely from her side and obviously in pain, but her eyes were clear.

_Clearly furious…_

Sasuke was getting nervous. The boy shifted his feet a little; the viciousness in her eyes drew him to her, but freaked him out all at the same time. He was wrong to think her weak before; Sakura had _only _grown stronger. She was most definitely not the same girl he'd karate-chopped in the back of the head years before.

But regardless of her growth, even a weakened Chidori would have taken a lot out of her.

Sakura grimaced. _Why is he hesitating? I'm pretty much down for the count. He would probably have no problem knocking me out again and carting me off to his evil headquarters. I don't think I can do anything else to him after that last attack._

He was watching her with a mixture of appraisal and anxiety. She wondered for a moment what he was thinking. Did he perhaps think she was faking? She didn't know, but after fully taking in his lack of movement, she began to plot. He didn't seem to be in any hurry, so perhaps she could simply escape and live to fight another day.

_Hmph. Like he'd make it that easy. This is Sasuke, for pity's sake!_

Still, she coughed up what felt like half a lung, nearly falling over, and he didn't do anything. He didn't even make like he was ready to grab her on the off chance that she chose certain failure and just started running.

Sakura _had_ actually considered that earlier, but in her current condition, it wasn't happening. Sleeping sounded better. But no way was she going to sleep on his watch. Then she remembered something.

_Oh! I'd almost forgotten about that. Well, I suppose I could try… I mean, it might work, and if it does, I can go have a nice rest in the hospital…_ Sakura fluttered her lashes lazily, feigning lightheadedness (or was it real?) in order to peek surreptitiously at her opponent. _Yes, I think I will. He's left an opening._

**-thud-**

Sasuke blinked for the first time in an hour. Sakura had collapsed.

_I guess she wasn't _that_ much stronger. Pity._

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, glanced around for any spying eyes, and stepped over to where the girl's limp body lay.

She was still alive, but barely. His last attack had really put her through the ringer, despite its lack of strength. It almost made Sasuke feel bad…

Almost.

The boy leaned down as he watched her back rise slowly with labored breath. He blinked again. It wasn't stopping.

Sasuke had time to utter an "Oh fu-" before the dummy exploded. After the smoke cleared, all that remained were a few stray weapons and small pools of blood.


	4. Going Out With A Bang

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but if I did, I would keep him in my closet and hand-feed him ramen every day.

------------------------------------------------------------

Going Out with a Bang

Sakura was halfway to the Hokage's Tower when the dummy went off. She was suddenly glad that Tsunade had forced her to carry that trick around with her. It was bulky, but she had never been so happy to remember that it was in her Weapons pouch.

She could only hope that Sasuke hadn't noticed that it wasn't really her lying in a heap on the ground. But she also hoped that he hadn't been killed. A good maiming would suffice, really.

_After all, I can't just forget the past as easily as he did. I'm not so heartless._

She shuddered a little and leapt on. Arriving at her destination, she limped in and made her painful way up the stairs, eventually finding herself on the business level. A twinge of exhaustion burrowed into her shoulders. Shizune was not to be found, and the place was utterly silent.

_How bothersome. And, if I might add, extremely inconvenient for injured people._

With no real wish to bleed to death, Sakura headed for Tsunade's office. If the Hokage wasn't awake, she could let herself in; surely bleeding abdomens gave one clearance into the Hokage's office without announcement.

This _was_, however, supposed to have been part of a well-earned vacation for Sakura. Tsunade had ordered her to take some rest, and claimed she didn't want to see the girl again for at least a week. Sakura remembered this vividly, since it had sent her into a short trance of happiness upon its proclamation. It had been so long since she'd had a break…

_Oh well_… Sakura thought, approaching the Fifth's door. _It's not like I have enough chakra left to heal this up myself._

Hushed but angry voices could be heard through the wall. Sakura leaned gratefully against it, forgetting completely about the door less than a foot away.

"HOW THE HELL DID HE GET IN?!" That would be Tsunade screaming.

Rapid footsteps grew louder, and the door was yanked open. "AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING JUST SITTING OUT THERE IN YOUR CONDITION?!" That would be Tsunade herself. Sakura almost smiled, but the fire in the Hokage's eyes burned away any thoughts of amusement. Sakura found herself being pulled in and shoved onto Tsunade's handy dandy hangover cot.

The girl was able to manage a weak grin when not directly in the path of the Hokage's terrible glare. "Didn't want to bother you."

"What kind of logic is that?!" Sakura winced; the screaming had _barely_ decreased in decibels. And was it really necessary? So close to Sakura's ears, too…

"Blood-loss logic, it seems." Shizune was there, smiling gently at Sakura.

Tsunade's eyes flicked from one to the other, and then closed with a sigh. "Tangled with him, did you?"

"I assume you mean Sasuke?" Sakura blinked away recycled fatigue. "Yeah. And I got him pretty good too, I think…"

_Which is to say, not at all… Unless of course the dummy worked better than I expected._

"Did you use the super-strength technique I taught you?"

"Didn't get a chance to. He came up to me when I was dozing and cut the small talk short before I could fully wake up. Of course, perhaps it was the fact that he… er…" Sakura faltered, only partially from wooziness.

"Yes?" Tsunade was impatient. She needed as many good answers as possible before putting the girl out for recovery.

_Kissed me._ "…distracted me. I mean, he used a big attack early on…" _Right…_

"How big are we talking?" Tsunade's concerned voice was tinged with curiosity. She needed details in order to assess how bad the damage _could_ be, but she'd also long wondered just how much her ward could take, fight-wise.

The cogs in her brain clicked and Sakura realized something. "Oh yeah! I wondered why that looked so familiar… he used that Chidori jutsu."

Tsunade gaped. "CHIDORI?! I knew Kakashi taught it to him, but he used it on you, and you _SURVIVED_?!"

Sakura nodded slowly. The older woman stared at her for a bit longer and then rubbed her face briskly. "Goodness. '_He used that Chidori jutsu_' she says with a grin on her face… Grief."

Sakura felt a pang of nostalgia as she remembered the admiration with which she'd watched him first perform the jutsu, back when they were still a team, back when life was simple.

_I miss then._

And suddenly Shizune was propping her up on pillows, while Tsunade fished some healing scrolls out of a cabinet. Sakura stared out the window, stretching at the sound of parchment unfurling.

_I wonder where he went…_

-------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke fumed at himself. How had he not seen through such an obvious trap? And with the sharingan, no less?

_Now _I'm_ injured too_, he complained. The boy sighed once more as he sat in the forest bandaging his various gashes and wounds. He wasn't quite sure what Orochimaru would say about all of this, but his only option was to go back empty-handed.

All of Konoha would be looking for him by now, or at the very least an ANBU team ordered by Tsunade. Surely Orochimaru wouldn't object to his retreating rather than trying to go against the esteemed Fifth, especially now that her temper would be boiling; he had hurt her special girl, after all.

_Still… Sakura really did change._

A tentative smile appeared as he vaguely traced his lips.

_The question is, was she always that good? Or did she only get better after I left?_

In this self-centered state of mind, Sasuke picked himself up and disappeared into the canopy.


	5. Somewhat Of A Plan

Disclaimer: if I were secretly Kishimoto in disguise, I would own Naruto. But I'm not… Aw…

----------------------------------------------------

Somewhat of a Plan

Tsunade was trying unsuccessfully to nap at her desk. Sakura was healing nicely, but it was going to take a while for her body to regroup. So Tsunade still fretted.

And while she could understand Orochimaru's desire to have Sakura on his side (she'd trained the girl herself, after all), she didn't see how he could infiltrate her side so easily in order to fulfill that desire. Apparently, their border guards weren't the caliber they once were.

Or perhaps Sasuke was just that good.

Either way, Sakura needed better protection than Konoha could offer. Sending her to an unknown location with an intense guard sounded like the best plan at the moment. This would give them a bit of time (hopefully, it would take the Sound spies a while to find Sakura) to perhaps work out what the purpose of Sasuke's attack was.

A good location would be easy to find. Tsunade just needed to consider any location outside of Konoha. Sasuke and Orochimaru both knew the layout of the village and its surrounding forests, but it was unlikely that they had memorized every acre of land of the rest of the world. Sure, the place would need to be checked out thoroughly, but location was not necessarily an issue.

The main problem, of course, was finding a suitable guard.

Naruto was a fierce fighter, certainly, but she didn't want to put him in the position of having to choose sides. His relationship with Sakura had grown into much more of a sibling situation. Sasuke, however, was like family to Naruto also, despite his betrayal of the Leaf Village. And while she had no doubt that he would protect Sakura over Sasuke, she knew that his heart would be torn. Tsunade didn't want to break the boy like that.

Neji? Another amazing fighter, but in her recent observations, the Fifth had noticed how he grew more romantically inclined towards Sakura by the day. When this had developed and why, Tsunade had no idea; the girl remained oblivious (just the way love tends to play it) and the boy seemed to have no intention of letting her in on the secret. Either way, he was emotionally invested, which is something Tsunade didn't want.

He would also have trouble dealing with another Sasuke encounter. Any of the boys who were on the retrieval team would, even if they hadn't been close to the runaway.

They were all almost killed in the chase, after all. And he hadn't even returned…

It didn't matter. She had considered everyone, and anyone who wasn't previously attached to the former Team 7 teammates didn't seem good enough.

Tsunade rubbed her eyes. This was turning out to be much more difficult than she had first thought. The ideal guard needed to be someone who didn't feel for either party but knew them (at least by sight), someone who was a spectacular shinobi, someone who wouldn't take any of Sakura's crap…

Someone… distanced… strong… sandy?

"Of course!"

Shizune came in with a tray of tea. "What is it? Have you thought of someone? I hope it's not Kakashi, because he's amazing on the battlefield and all, but those two are like his children, and it wouldn't be fair-"

"No. Not Kakashi." The Hokage looked up, ready to read her assistant's reaction. "The Kazekage of Suna."

"WHAT?!"

Tsunade cringed and glanced at the pink-haired kunoichi still snoozing peacefully on her blood-stained cot.

Shizune blanched, then continued in a softer voice, "_Him_? But why?"

The Hokage counted out the reasons on her fingers. "First of all, he's incredibly strong. Secondly, he has an unwavering guard, or so I assume from his personality and his amazing job at protecting his village. I mean, the crime rate has gone down _incredibly_ since he took charge. And thirdly, he isn't emotionally attached to either Sakura _or_ Sasuke. It's perfect. Also, he would be able to keep a leash on Sakura with ease. You know how devious she can be when she wants to. I'm pretty sure she could ditch even Kakashi if she wanted to."

Shizune considered this for a while and nodded. "That's actually quite a sensible choice, Tsunade-sama."

"And that's why I picked him."

"She's really not going to like this."

"Well, that can be dealt with."

Shizune chuckled. "That sounds ominous."

"It was meant to. Sakura's stubbornness can be quite difficult to handle, and I should know." Tsunade put her head back down. "Mayhap she'll be reasonable for once."

-------------------------------------------------------

"SUNA?!"

Sakura was dashing after Tsunade, who was throwing things around the room.

"Don't you have _any_ kind of clothing appropriate for desert conditions?" The frustrated Hokage jotted something down on her arm, muttering about shopping. Sakura kept busy by putting everything back in its original place. She remained convinced that she didn't need to leave Konoha to be protected and thought this whole ordeal ridiculous.

"Why can't Kakashi look after me? And what's wrong with the clothes I already own?" the pink-haired girl whined, folding some shorts back up.

"Stop complaining!" Tsunade snapped; her patience meter was running out. "I have my reasons. And your clothes are too delicate to serve if you're going to be staying in Suna long term, which is why we need to go get you some of that heavy-duty material."

"Can I hear them?"

"What?"

"Can I hear your reasons for sending me away?"

"No."

Sakura sighed.

"Look, you're not getting out of this. It's the best course of action. Gaara will be here tomorrow to get you, and you will go _without a fuss_. This is a very generous thing he's doing for us. Plus, not only does it keep you alive and in one piece, but it strengthens alliances too." Sakura rolled her eyes at this. Tsunade ignored her.

"Keep in mind that you can come visit when your guardian is free to travel. But also remember that Gaara is a busy man now, far busier than _you'll_ be, so visits may be few and far between."

Sakura repressed a growl. "I can't send letters either, can I…"

"If Sasuke sniffs out where you are, you are welcome to start corresponding back and forth with the village. But until then, I'd rather not make things _too_ easy for him."

Sakura made a face, thinking it was possibly too easy already, but decided to stop complaining anyway. Tsunade appeared to be in one of those moods and likely wouldn't budge. Ah, well. Somehow, she was sure things would work out.

"So, about the shopping…"


	6. A Change In The Wind

In my revisions, I gave Gaara's personalities more of a part. They're fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I am stalking him.

A/N: **_blah_** – Inner Gaara

**Blah** – Shukaku

-----------------------------------------------------------------

A Change in the Wind

Gaara was surprised at how easily Tsunade had gotten him to agree to play bodyguard for little Haruno Sakura. Of course, he wasn't sure how little she was now. He only remembered her as a petite girl with pink hair and green eyes, a delicate, princess-like female who wouldn't ever fit the mold of a fighter.

He did recall very well, however, one moment of weakness, years ago, when he glared straight into her eyes and saw… determination. Power. Pain.

_Mother. _

_Still…_ he sighed, shaking off the memory, _it's not surprising that she needs protection. She's better as bait than anything, if I'm not mistaken. I know her type. They might grow a backbone should the need arise, but it's a Fight or Flight type of instinct that fades in a more comfortable setting._

Ah well… Temari had claimed this would be good for him; it would help him work on his people skills, she'd said. He couldn't really disagree. As Kazekage, he sort of needed them.

He still had to argue, however, and his argument against this mission was that being around someone his own age wouldn't help develop his adult people skills. Temari's rebuttal was that Sakura was a kunoichi and most likely as mature as any adults Gaara might have to deal with.

Temari said to stop complaining, that it might humanize him more. On an everyday basis, Gaara still avoided people (a tendency that had been engrained since birth), and this worried his siblings. He was able to feel now, just like everyone else, but he continually convinced himself otherwise, thus remaining as emotionless as ever. Rarely did he let any natural reactions show through his trained mask.

But they were there. And so Temari pushed. Gaara had tried over and over to make her understand that he wasn't completely human still, but she wouldn't have it, even if it was true.

Because, somehow, despite all that he'd been through, a small part of him remained as demonic as ever. And he wondered, from time to time, if he would be able to act differently had Shukaku successfully been extracted. The Akatsuki had managed to suck out most of the demon raccoon, but a tiny portion had held on. This small bit had clung to life in some distant part of Gaara's corpse, waiting patiently for the main body to be brought back to life.

Gaara had never asked the remaining piece of Shukaku how it was able to stay alive, or why it had bothered to stick around. After all, it wasn't like he was guaranteed a second chance. What would the piece have done if the body it had worked so hard to stay with had proceeded to decompose and return to the earth?

Gaara didn't really care, of course. The Shukaku bit was very weak and had hardly any hold on his medium, and so wasn't much of a concern. Unfortunately for the medium, the bit had woken up Gaara's conscience, which had been comatose since age six. So while the boy _felt_ all the less sane for having three voices in his head now, he _acted_ all the saner.

Without the emotions and all, of course. He denied them passage as much as he could. They made him feel weak. And how he despised feeling weak…

Suddenly coming back to himself, Gaara realized that he was walking through forest. Konoha was close. This gladdened him (not that he showed it); he was hungry (didn't show that either).

---------------------------------------------------

A woman named Shizune met him at the gates. She attempted small talk for a few minutes as they walked towards the Hokage's tower, but failed miserably in the face of Gaara's muteness. He smiled inwardly at this (quite without meaning to).

Shizune, for her part, felt terribly apprehensive upon meeting Gaara. He _did_ return her polite greeting, but then shifted to Silent Mode. There was no talking, no grunting, and his breathing was so quiet she could have sworn it wasn't happening.

_He never even acknowledged that I was talking! Didn't even twitch… But Sakura's prattle may give him more trouble. You have to be a Zen master to tune her out completely. Hmph… I don't think I'm all that sorry for him._

She silently escorted the leader to Tsunade's office and left him there with tea and sandwiches. Then she went to find Tsunade, hoping she was nearby.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Is he here?"

Shizune barely held in a shriek.

Well, right behind her _would_ count as nearby…

-----------------------------------------------------------

Gaara kept his cool even as his stomach danced to see the food.

**Oh, _please_ just tuck in. We've had a long journey, and surely the old lady'll understand if you screw decorum and eat now. Why wait? **

_**Now we all know that's not a smart thing to do. Sure, you're hungry, but she'll be back in a moment, and you'll make a much better impression with everyone if you keep your manners about you.**_

**Oh, fuck off, would you? I want food. **

_**You aren't in charge here, asshat. **_

**Yeah, well, neither are you! Come on, kid. Just go grab some grub. You're Sabaku no Gaara! No one can say no to you!**

Gaara groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Shut up, will you both? I'm trying to be diplomatic."

"What was that?" Tsunade had arrived. Gaara just shook his head, bringing a tentative smirk to his face (as much of a smile as he could voluntarily make at the moment), and stood to allow some mutual bowing before Tsunade offered him refreshments.

**Ah… That's good stuff, there. **

_**You're shameless.**_

Gaara blinked and willed both voices to be quiet.

"I'm really glad you made it so quickly. I suppose Sakura isn't, considering that she's only just gotten back on her feet, but _I_ appreciate your punctuality."

Gaara nodded and cleared his throat, preparing himself to be the smooth-talking ambassador he needed to be. "But I've been meaning to ask why you can't look after her yourself, Godaime-sama? No disrespect to either of you, I'm just curious is all."

_**You're so full of it, boy. **_

_Shut up. _

Tsunade watched as a series of muted emotions fluttered across his face and smiled. "Yes, I understand, and I take no offense. Sakura is wondering about it herself, though not specifically alluding to me. Mostly, it's just because you wouldn't let yourself get caught up emotionally. Also, if the news from Suna has remained constant, I believe you are all enjoying a spree of peace. That makes things even easier."

Gaara nodded. Things had certainly quieted down lately. Sure, there were still piles of paperwork and meetings, but it wasn't like anyone was directly threatening the village anymore. He was still as powerful as ever (well, almost), and as there were no more terrorists lobbying for his literal inner demon, the whole town was relatively undisturbed. The only close-to-home troubles anyone had to deal with anymore were rogue muggings on the outskirts of town, and even those were rare. Even better, the feudal lord everyone had been at odds with miraculously died of a heart attack (ahem). His successor was much more willing to cooperate. To top it all off, a strong alliance with Konoha kept other enemies from really bothering them.

To sum things up, some semblance of peace had been attained at last.

Unfortunately, Gaara still retained some of his old bloodlust; a small part of him hoped on and off for some sort of war. After all, most of his life had been sheer violence. He had subconsciously labeled peace as something boring and unnecessary in his childhood; to this day, he still had small struggles with this problem. Luckily, he found a greater part of himself to be enjoying the calm. The quiet wanting of quality brutality was easily suppressed.

Tsunade, after recapturing Gaara's attention (much to his embarrassment), explained what had come to pass in the past few days. The boy listened carefully, logging useful details in his brain.

_I sort of wish she would explain this Haruno girl's character to me. You'd think a bodyguard would have to know, at the very least, the most _basic_ elements of his charge's personality. Maybe she thinks I don't care._ This thought caused a small grimace to appear unannounced on Gaara's mouth.

"Well then," Tsunade finished, clapping her hands, "I think you've got the full story. And if I've left anything out, Sakura can fill you in. She's a great conversationalist."

"…I'm sure of it. But is there anything vital to _her_ that I might need to know? Quirks in her character, strange habits, anything that might ease this… transition?"

Tsunade let out a hearty guffaw. "Oh, nothing dangerous. She's really grown into a great girl. Quite a handful, but that's why I picked you as her guard. She's generally mild-mannered, but she has a bit of a wild streak and… oh, don't worry about it! I'm sure she'll talk enough during the trip for you to analyze what you need to. Just prepare for some nice long chats!"

…_Who fooled me into thinking I wanted to do this? Damn it, Temari…_


	7. I'd Rather Be Dreaming

A/N: blah – Inner Sakura a.k..a. Kura

Disclaimers: 'Course I don't own Naruto. Kishi-face does.

-------------------------------------------

I'd Rather Be Dreaming

Sakura was currently lying on the floor, entangled in a blanket and sprawled at an awkward angle. She was supposed to be finishing her packing, but as that had _been_ finished for a couple of hours now, napping sounded like a good plan.

Unfortunately, sleep seemed beyond her reach. She had tried cozying back up in bed; after rolling out for the third time, she had gone in search of a better location. The couch had been a quality candidate until the mysterious lumps in the cushions had decided to dent her back (permanently, it felt like). She had tried a counter in the kitchen, but relaxing by a bunch of sharp torture tools (mainly used for cooking) didn't sit well with her. Then she tried the dining room table, and then her father's desk chair, and then their eighty-year-old recliner… No such luck. In the end, all this search brought her was pain, as her side decided to start aching once again.

Which brings us to her current position. After tripping up the stairs for the third time, she gave up on her quest and made herself a wooly cocoon on the floor of her room. Even _it_ wasn't properly suitable for sleep.

The fact remained that naps were best had at her bench (oddly enough, considering that it's made of stone). And visiting the bench today was out of the question.

After all, today was the day that she was to begin her trek to Sunagakure, the Village of the Hidden Sand. Quite a big name for such a dumpy little town.

_I'm sure it isn't quite _that_ bad. It just didn't look all that impressive the last time I went there…_

I'm sure you'll live. 

Sakura jumped slightly. It always surprised her when her inner self spoke these days.

Inner Sakura, or Kura, as Sakura had taken to calling her, was once a foe to be reckoned with (mentally, at least). But it wasn't long after Sasuke had left that Kura lost her vigor and all but disappeared.

It made the girl a bit sad every time she heard her inner voice, because not only was the sound quality perfect (every pathetic syllable could be heard), but so were the visual effects. There wasn't much to see, just a small and cheerless girl sitting in the middle of a spotlight that dimmed a little every day, but that image burned so clearly into Sakura's mind that she couldn't rid herself of it for hours.

The worst part was that Sakura could never get Kura to tell her what had doused that spark, and so couldn't help her(self).

_I really wish you would tell me what's wrong one of these days. As your concrete body, I have to say your depression doesn't do me any favors._

Kura gave a faint smile and shook her head slowly.

It won't kill you not to know. In fact, it'd probably make you feel worse if you did. If it's ever necessary, I'll tell you. But I sense a change coming, a good one. It could be the change that kicks me back up, so I wouldn't worry. 

Sakura sat up and leaned against her bed, sighing as she kicked her pack over unhappily.

_I can't help it. Life needs to improve itself, for both of our sakes._

Oh, don't you start. What's wrong with your life? What can you really complain about, besides that wound?

_Get off my back! I'm just thinking. No harm ever came of that. _

You'd be surprised.

And that was when the doorbell chose to ring. Sakura groaned loudly to drown out the call of her temporary new life.

"Sakura! Hurry up, dear. Everyone's waiting!" That would be her mother, who was frankly ecstatic about who was going to be taking care of her daughter. Initially, shock and anger had been involved, but once she'd heard of said bodyguard's status, she didn't care so much anymore. Sakura shook her head unhappily as she heard her mother begin to babble to their guests. She was using her cocktail party voice.

"SAKURA! Don't make me come up and remove you forcefully! You're going, and you're going now! Other people have lives they need to be getting back to, you know!" That would be Tsunade, who would most definitely come up and haul Sakura's unwilling ass down the stairs if needed; of this, Sakura had no doubt at all. But it was this threat that got her moving, due to the fact that she didn't want to make a fool out of herself in front of someone like the Kazekage _so_ soon…

It was bound to happen eventually, but the longer she could put that off, the better.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Geez, you move a bit too slowly once and they bite your head off…"

The first thing she saw, as she reached the landing, was her mother's light blush and blinding teeth.

_Guess that means Gaara's still a cutie… Geez, the woman has no shame. Look how she's winking! Ooh, but am I allowed to call him Gaara? He's the Kazekage now, after all. Hmm…_

The second thing she saw, as she reached the ground floor, was Tsunade's ambassadorial smile and eyes that halfway threatened, halfway softened at the defiantly drowsy look Sakura's own eyes held.

_I wish she'd told me precisely why I'm being sent away. Maybe it's because everyone here is too attached to me and would be devastated if I were to be killed by Sasuke, and she only didn't tell me to avoid feeding my ego… Nah._

The third thing she saw, as she turned to face the wide-open door, was shaggy red hair, half-lidded green eyes, dark rings of sleeplessness, and an ever so slightly frowning mouth.

Gaara.


	8. On Our Merry Way

I didn't originally like this chapter much, but I do now!

Disclaimer: Okay, let's see a show of hands. Who thinks I own Naruto?

…

Yeah, that's what I thought.

----------------------------------------------------------------

On Our Merry Way

Gaara had dealt with being generally cordial to people for the better part of the morning. As he followed Tsunade up the front walk of the Haruno residence, he decided he was more than ready to be getting back to Suna.

This feeling was only spurred by the excitement of Sakura's mother. It permeated Gaara's skin and made him itch. He subconsciously scratched at his arm while the woman called Sakura down. He wished she would hurry up; the entryway was filled with some sort of intoxicating fruit scent that was making him a bit nauseous.

"You know, I was a bit scared at first to be letting my little girl tramp off to another country while under threat of abduction, but once I heard who would be taking care of her, I felt complete relief! Are you two going to be leaving right now?"

Gaara nodded, eyeing the woman warily. She had pink hair like Sakura, but that's where the resemblance stopped. Sakura wasn't this bubble-headed even back when they were twelve. The woman was very obviously a civilian, and one definitely unaccustomed to shinobi business. He wondered briefly how Sakura came to be a ninja at all.

"Good, good! Sakura's been going absolutely nuts after being cooped up. She's been downstairs and upstairs and falling down stairs… Such energy! It's a wonder she hasn't torn right through those stitches you put in her, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade smiled slightly wider and called Sakura loudly. Gaara began to glare at the stairs. If she had been so obsessed with them before, why weren't their charms pulling her to them anymore? He didn't like being stuck trying to ignore her mother, who continued to yammer about various things.

At last, a thumping was heard in the stairwell, signaling the arrival of relief. Gaara kept his eyes trained on the banister in order to avoid eye contact with Sakura's mother, who began to giggle and twitter like a schoolgirl.

But then a figure stepped into his view and he looked up to see Sakura.

She wasn't what he'd been expecting at all. She was almost as tall as he was, with creamy skin and a trim figure currently wrapped thickly in bandages. Her pink hair (he'd been expecting _that_) was up in a messy bun that allowed certain choice locks to drift over her eyes, which remained as green as they'd ever been. Her clothes were practical for desert travel and gave her a business-like air.

Overall, her look wasn't bad. It was downright professional, in fact. At least he wouldn't be ashamed to be seen walking around with/being tailed by her.

She didn't look too disappointed with him either. He supposed this attitude was somehow connected with the new standpoint Suna girls had acquired concerning him, if not slightly softened in its own way.

_**Meaning she's no rabid fangirl, but interested. Yes!**_

_I don't care if she's interested or not. Frankly, things will go more smoothly if she isn't. _

**Yeah, but it's not like you'd object if she was… Come on, boy, I know everything! You want yourself a girl!**

Gaara held in a growl. _Oh yeah? Says who?_

**Your hormones, as well as those interesting dreams you sometimes have…**

_**Indeed. You know, I never agree with you, but this is a special case… **_

_I hate you both._

_**And that doesn't matter at all, because you can't get rid of us, just like you can't get rid of those hormones that you're trying to deny you have. Ha!**_

**It's true. Face it. You want the girls that watch you to try and get into your pants. **

_Don't you dare put me on your level, you horny bastard. I'll admit that I'm… intrigued by that sort of thing, but I won't screw just anybody. _

**Well, you can tell that to the first girl you actually lay, hey? It'll make her feel _realllll_ special. **

"You two know each other already, so _I_ can skip the introductions and you kids can skip town! So get going. Time waits for no man. Or woman." Tsunade grabbed Sakura by the collar and thrust her at Gaara, who was currently cracking his knuckles threateningly.

Sakura caught herself and glanced at his face, wondering if she'd already pissed him off by simply being related to her mother, who had just run to fetch the camera. But he wasn't looking at her; instead, he was trying to set the wall ablaze with his glaring eyes.

_What is that tinge I spy in his cheeks? Huh. Maybe the Akatsuki actually did him some good, strange as that seems. _

"You okay?"

Gaara blinked and refocused on the girl suddenly standing at his side. She was inspecting his face very closely, as if trying to read his mind.

_Let's hope she can't._

**Let's hope she CAN! HEY BABY! HE WANTS YOU!**

_**And there goes our period of agreement. As much as I support your claims that Gaara wants a girl, I think he'd much prefer it if we let him decide and work things out on his own. We don't know this girl. She might be completely wrong for him.**_

**No one is wrong for sex, though. Well, unless they don't have any cash and prizes to speak of, if you know what I mean…**

_**You sicken me. **_

**Oh, don't even try to play the prude. Your enjoyment of his dirty dreams is so obvious it's ridiculous. **

_**Shove it. They're very well directed, is all I'm saying.**_

**Oh, what bullshit is this? I can see right through your fibs, you…**

Gaara felt like groaning loudly as yet another argument arose, but thought better of displaying his annoyance. He swallowed his blush (why he was blushing, he had no clue) and turned to his ward.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking. Shall we depart?" His voice was all control and politeness. Sakura felt like doing a double take. Surprise lit up in her eyes as they scanned his face once more.

_Woah. Now that was creepy. He went from possibly normal to iceberg in 0.5 seconds! I guess he hasn't really changed…_

She swallowed a sigh and nodded. "Sure…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Naruto lounged on a park bench. He was rather enjoying this sharing of Shikamaru's pastime. Said nin was stretched out on the bench opposite him, taking in the view.

"So why are you so willing to be calm today? This isn't like you at all."

Naruto shrugged, keeping his eyes on a cloud that was the spitting image of a frog. "Sakura-chan is leaving today for Suna and I wanted to see her off. Gotta save my excitement for the goodbye, don'tcha know?"

Shikamaru looked over at the blonde suspiciously. "How do you know about that? That's classified information."

"So? I'm still a big part of the whole business, even if it doesn't concern me directly. I mean, it doesn't have anything to do with you and _you_ know about it. Why not me?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm close to both Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme, and if anything fatal… well…" He closed his eyes on the thought.

"Even considering the fact that Sasuke ditched the village completely when he trotted off to join that snakey pedophile's ranks?"

"Yeah, I guess… I mean, don't think I would just stand by if Sasuke truly meant to harm Sakura, but…" Naruto laced his fingers behind his head, shifting slightly. "But she's in good hands. I trust Gaara. He's a good man."

"Hmm…"

Naruto shook off Shikamaru's doubts and sat up just in time to see Sakura passing in the lane, trying not to look too nervous about the red-haired man striding alongside her.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Have fun on your trip! Bring me back a souvenir, 'kay?" Naruto waved like a lunatic. He was rewarded with a warm smile and an equally wild wave.

"Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, Naruto! You hear me? But be sure to bother Tsunade plenty! I approve fully of that!"

The boy grinned and waved until the pair was out of sight. Then he flopped back down, ignoring the tiny ache he felt deep down in his gut.

A sigh was heard. "Well, that's that. And things just got a teeny bit duller. It was much more exciting when there was the possibility of a kidnapping, don't you think?"

Naruto smiled. "I suppose you're right… Say, doesn't that cloud look like a bowl of…"


	9. A Beginning

Disclaimer: yeah, so, like, I don't, like, own Naruto or anything… like, okay?

-------------------------------------------------

A Beginning

Sakura missed everything already. It was only the first night away from all that was familiar, and yet she felt completely ready to throw in the towel and make her way back.

"Damn. I've never wanted to be floored by Naruto's massive energy more than right now."

Gaara stopped a few paces ahead of her (what had been his constant position the entire time they'd been walking) and turned. "What was that?"

"Ah, just mumbling to myself. I'm kinda sleepy."

"Would you like for us to stop for the night?"

Sakura wanted dearly to take him up on that offer, but at the same time didn't want to give him leave to add 'weak' to his mental character description of her.

"No, I'm okay to keep going." She could see him shift towards her slightly in doubt. "Seriously! Let's just go. The sooner we get to a bed, the better."

Gaara, for his part, couldn't see why she didn't just give in to the inevitable, but didn't question her further.

_It's _her_ body and _her_ sleep schedule…_

_**Oh, stop it. You know as well as I do that she's only trying to prove herself to you. She's just another one of the many who don't know how much you've changed for the better.**_

**Not _my_ better. **

_**AHEM. If you can recall, your old personality wasn't exactly the most tolerant of weakness, but that's the only personality she knows. Show her how wrong she is! Why don't you just try talking to her? **_

_Because there are only so many people I can tolerate having a conversation with._

_**And… she may just be one of them. Who knows? Come on, boy, give it a chance. It can only help. And you can even make it a challenge for yourself: see how much of your new character you can convey to her in the fewest words possible! Whaddaya say?**_

**You know, for someone who was cautioning him so strongly against this chick, you sure are pushing for a connection…**

_**Did I ask for your opinion? NO. Now shut up.**_

Gaara grimaced.

_I say… urgh._

What his mouth said was: "Why don't you explain this whole deal to me, then, to pass the time? Tsunade-sama gave me an overview, but I'd rather hear it from you. After all, you were there and she wasn't."

He nearly fell over in shock at himself. He'd said so much, and without even one prompt from her! Well, the voices in his head were yapping, but he rarely listened to them anyway. Wow… Talking with people on a normal level was much harder than talking to them about business, but he just did it without even breaking a sweat.

Maybe this actually _was_ a good idea. He felt more normal already.

The girl took a deep breath, squinting ahead. "What else is there to tell? Team 7's own traitor decided to make an appearance again and caught me off guard, a fact that was made worse since _I_ was the one he'd appeared for. There was banter and bashing and all I got from the exchange was a nasty pain, the knowledge that Yakushi Kabuto is dead, and mixed feelings about my own worth as a medic. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I'm so prized; Tsunade-sama trained me, after all. And if the baddies can't have _her_ healing their side, I'm the next best choice, I guess. Still, I don't really know why Sasuke tried to _kill_ me. I mean, you'd think I'd be no good to them dead."

Gaara frowned unintentionally. "You must be extremely skilled, then, for this huge ruckus to be stirred up."

Sakura smiled wearily at the ground. "I've never had any complaints. I do, however, tend to get mounds of compliments on my spectacular bedside manner."

_Bed… That sounds nice._ She hitched her pack back up to a more comfortable spot and trudged on. _If only I didn't have this damn pride, I could be sleeping right now. Shame…_

Gaara could hear the sleepiness in her steps, and wondered at her stamina. He wouldn't have dared to call her weak even if she had wanted to stop when he asked before. Of course, she didn't know that.

_I really hate it when you're right._

He caught a vague glimpse of his inner self snickering.

**_Yes, well, I am also you, don't forget. Perhaps if you'd just let yourself pick up on things like this, then _I_ wouldn't have to be the one taking all the credit. _**

A soft thump interrupted Gaara's inner monologue of sorts. Turning around once more, he saw a pile of pink-headed female lying in the dirt. Not even stopping to think, he strode over and hauled the exhausted girl over his shoulder; surely normal people would do things like that in a situation like this without question.

Besides, she wanted to get to a bed as soon as possible. He was only helping her along, just like the good bodyguard that he was.

_Well, now she'll know that I'm dependable and… kind?_

_**That's right. You're catching on quickly. **_

So he walked on.

And even if he refused to admit it to himself (_any_ of his selfs), he rather enjoyed the feel of her soft weight on his shoulder. It made him feel very strong and upstanding. It also made him feel close to her, somehow, in a sense beyond physical proximity. It wasn't something Gaara was used to, but it wasn't an unpleasant sensation in any way. He was helping, like a normal person would do. Even unconscious, she was normalizing him!

_I suppose it's okay to feel this way, then. And nearness of this sort never hurt anyone, I don't think. _

Gaara's face felt strange. It wasn't until he felt around on it with his fingers that he realized he was smiling.

_Is this how regular people feel all the time?_


	10. Morning Musings

Disclaimer: no ownage of Naruto here. Boo. Razz.

---------------------------------------------------------

Morning Musings

Sakura awoke snuggled against a rock. Sitting up, she saw that she was lying alone in a small clearing. There was no sign of Gaara anywhere.

_Right. So now what should I do? I hope he didn't go far._

And he hadn't. In fact, upon looking around a bit more carefully, Sakura noticed her protector resting in the shadow of a tree to her left.

"And here I thought he didn't sleep." Sakura beamed at the morning sky. She felt oddly refreshed and alive.

"I don't. I was simply resting my eyes. Need anything?"

Sakura blinked and looked around. Gaara was right beside her, a tiny grin on those well-sculpted lips of his.

_Wait, what? Well-sculpted? Okay… No idea where that came from._

…Well, actually, she knew exactly where that idea came from. A light blush found its way across her face as she examined the ground, trying to stop thinking about how cutely his blood-red hair (the perfect color for him!) fell down the middle of his forehead, or how quickly those opaque eyes were able to suck her in (perfect reason to not look at him; that tractor beam was dangerous!)…

Of course, she found her eyes sneaking their way back up to his face after a minute. But a quick look couldn't hurt, right? A quick peek wouldn't turn her into a babbling, incomprehensible pile of mush, would it?

It wasn't like she could help it if romantic thoughts wormed their way into her head; the moment was too golden to inspire any other sort of feeling, and she had actually been wanting love for so long, had yearned for gentle contact, and Gaara's hand was oh so close to hers, and here they were, early morning in some sunrise-lit glade, and there he was, smiling like a dream…

Too bad that it was simply that.

Sakura awoke cramped against a rock, which inevitably pushed her mood the wrong way. She made her way to her feet and stretched painfully, discovering an awful crick in her neck.

Yep. It was going to be a bad day.

"Took you long enough to wake up. You must have really needed the rest. Anyway, I had you set up in that patch of grass over there, but you were awfully insistent about sleeping with that rock… I quit caring about your comfort factor after the third time you moved. Your persistence really is striking."

Sakura made a face, pushing her all-too-real dream to the back of her mind. "Whatever. Is there any possibility of getting a bath or some breakfast?"

"No bath. You can find some breakfast in there." A pack was tossed her direction, containing various foodstuffs, none of them really all that appetizing.

Gaara watched her frown over the contents of the bag, eyes drooping unhappily. She was obviously in a crappy mood this morning. He sort of wanted to ask what was wrong, but thought better of it; after all, he didn't _really_ care. Even deep down, he didn't feel any sort of indication to contradict this conclusion. But… was he supposed to care?

He decided he might care if it had something to do with him. And surely normal people at least _asked_, even if they didn't really give a damn about the other person's mood. So he forced it.

"Um, is something wrong?"

Sakura looked at him with dull eyes. They momentarily flickered with some foreign emotion… worry? Nervousness? Distrust? He couldn't tell. This was vaguely infuriating.

"Eh, nothing you could fix. Don't worry about it."

Oh, so she automatically believed him to be incompetent with feelings?

_**She'd be right. **_

He glared in annoyance as his inner self chimed in. Falling easily back into his old game face (completely by accident), he mistakenly directed it at her.

And she laughed. This puzzled him right back to a neutral expression.

"Seriously. I just woke up on the wrong side of the be… ro… ah, forget it. Point is, you shouldn't lose any sleep over it…" She blinked. "…Except you don't sleep. Okay, you know what? How about I shut up and eat, and then we can get going, hmm? Sound good? I think it's still too early for any sensible conversation."

And with this small outburst, she stuck to her words and ate quietly. Gaara sat in silence also, wondering at her.

How was it that one giggle from her was enough to break his wrath?


	11. Problematic H Words

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto… /cackles to self/

---------------------------------------------------

Problematic H-Words

The next couple of days of travel passed quickly and uneventfully.

Talk was kept to a minimum, as Gaara had decided to stop attempting to bond with Sakura without first consulting someone; he honestly didn't know how to proceed and she still hadn't cottoned onto the fact that he was trying to make friends.

Of course, this was mainly because Sakura didn't think of friendship as some embargo that took a lot of effort to start up, as Gaara saw it. As far as she was concerned, she was getting along wonderfully with Gaara and vice versa. He wasn't scary at all anymore, mostly just shy and unsure. He meant well, and that's what mattered.

She didn't tell Gaara this, though. If she had, he might not have been going so crazy.

Most of Gaara's frustration was the result of trying to figure out how to deal with the little things the pinkette did that always cured him of his… _him_ness. It was quite unsettling, which was undoubtedly good for him, but… _weird_. He just couldn't shake the strangeness of the whole process.

It was the same every time: she would say or do something that just crossed the line, he would pick up some old habit, and then she would fix it without meaning to. All it took was a quiet laugh, a quirky smile, a friendly wrinkle of her nose and he was back to his almost humane self.

Now, five miles outside of Suna, Gaara was having a mini meltdown.

_I just can't… I-Is this what people call… _love_? I'm so confused. And I can't ask her. Even if she knew, she would think I was strange, and then she might stop talking to me. _

_**Don't sweat it so much. I'll let you know when it's love. Or maybe you'll figure it out all on your own when the time comes. But you aren't there yet, so stop freaking out.**_

**I don't think he'll get there for a long time, frankly. I mean, I don't _do_ love, and I tend to inspire some of the deepest hatred known to mankind as a fact, so it's going to take him a while to learn how this stuff works. Ha… Don't worry, boy. I'll always be there to help!**

…_**You're loving this, aren't you? Aren't you? You sick bastard. **_

**Heh. It's in my nature. Sue genetics, why don'tcha? **

Letting out a piteous groan, Gaara massaged his forehead roughly. He _really_ hated it when they fought, which, unfortunately, was all the time. Every conflict came to naught, since all they could do was scream insults back and forth at each other, and all of this only resulted in a colossal headache for him.

"Gaara? Are you okay?"

Such a simple question.

_No, actually, I'm irreversibly fucked up by now. I'm talking serious mental issues. And you are making things so much worse by just being around me and being yourself. Isn't that terrible? Yeah, I think so too. Yeah, you can leave. I mind, but I shouldn't matter. Don't worry, I'll find you a new bodyguard; you know, one who doesn't want to bash his head in with that rock over there…_

"Uh, Gaara? You all right? Use words, please."

_Ah… Damn it._

He shook his head. "I'm fine, just have a bit of a headache is all."

Sakura smiled sweetly. "Well, you should've said something! Come here."

When Gaara reluctantly stepped towards her, she whipped out a hand and clutched his forehead. The sudden flow of foreign chakra made Gaara shy away slightly, but the hand stayed put. To take his mind off the creepy feeling of energies mixing (not to mention the oddity of how eager she was to help him), he focused on the girl's face.

He kind of liked watching the little tweaks of her expression as she healed him (a.k.a. chakra-slapped his inner personalities into silence). Her right eye twitched once, brows knitting together only to relax completely a second later, bringing the corners of her mouth up very slightly, which left her with a very beatific face. Had she always made that pretty of a picture? Had her lips always been that enticing shade of pink? And her eyes, had they always been that exact calming shade of green?

_Wait…eyes? Closed, were they not? No more…ergh._

Gaara blushed deeply against his will and cried out silently at the agony of losing his edge. He never would have blushed before just because he was caught staring at someone, since previously, when he stared at someone, he was usually marking them for death and gauging how much they'd bleed.

So why now? He had avoided these… hormones, were they? Yes. He had avoided these _hormones_ before, and while he wanted to fit in with his species, he would rather skip the regular problems. These were a big problem.

Of course, _this_ problem was happening right here right now. He needed a course of action.

To cover the slip, Gaara worked up a sneeze and turned away, mumbling a "thanks" as he rubbed at his nose. He turned to see Sakura looking slightly stunned, but… happy?

"What's that look for?" He asked, eyes narrowing. He didn't really want an answer. So when she shook her head at him, he resumed walking, but didn't ignore the fact that she stepped up to walk beside him.

_Okay, maybe they aren't _so_ bad…_

_**Ah, give it up. You know you're going to love life as a regular human being. **_


	12. Just Like Sleeping Beauty!

If I had younger siblings, I would totally bother them the way Temari does in this chapter.

Anyway, this chapter took a bit of a different turn when I reworked it. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, so get the lawyers off my lawn before I sic my very vicious bichon frise on them.

Oh wait. That's the CIA. My bad.

---------------------------------------------------

Just Like Sleeping Beauty!

Temari was torn between wanting to hug her youngest brother and burst out laughing at the robotic look on his face.

Of course, the look was in place because he had been forced yet again to carry a certain kunoichi, one who plainly refused to listen to her own body and give in to its inevitable weakness, one who denied normal habits (like sleeping) to keep up with his invincibility (at least against the lure of slumber), one who completely screwed with his head, his _emotions_, his damn hormones without even knowing it.

As the cherry on top, Gaara had been forced to carry her all the way across town to his home. Sure, he'd been traveling by rooftop, but Suna was surprisingly busy at night. He'd heard more than a few catcalls as he made his way through the village. Now all he wanted to do was dump her in her room and have some tea.

His sister was smirking unhelpfully as he headed for the stairs. "Uh, need a little help there? Want me to call Kankuro?"

"Oh, shut up and make yourself useful. Go find her a room or something."

Temari shook her head. "Ah, but it's already been done. I guess I have no choice but to follow you around and make fun of you instead."

"Or you could go put fresh sheets on her bed. Or you could make sure she has a clean towel. You could even draw her a little map of this cavernous house so that she can find her way around when she wakes up. Does any of _that_ sound like a nice way to occupy your time?"

"Not really. But don't worry, little brother. I get what's going on." Gaara stopped and looked straight back into a gut-wrenching grin that would have put the Cheshire cat to shame.

Temari stuck a finger in his face triumphantly. "You just want to be alone with her!"

Gaara grimaced, moving towards the stairs once more. "What are you, stupid? I was just alone with her for three days. Big whoop."

_You'd think I would've known this would happen… Learning how to be a normal boy really takes the intimidation out of you, and Temari isn't one to just let that kind of opportunity slip. How long she must have waited…_

Gaara shook his head, trying very hard to ignore his sister's cheerful chattering.

"Don't even try to be like that. I can see it in your eyes! It's LOOOOOVE!" She skipped ahead of him and flopped dramatically against the banister. "Oh, I'd always hoped to see some kind of storybook romance like this unfold… And now, right here in my very own house, with my little brother playing the part of the-"

" 'Storybook romance'? What kind of fucked-up fairytales are you reading?"

Temari dropped her hand from her forehead and sighed. "You can't take it all literally, the romance gets lost that way! No, see, you are the dark prince, and you have lived a life of trials and suffering only to grow up to be the ruler of a barren wasteland. A _lonely_ ruler. Then, one day, out of nowhere, a damsel gets into a distress and you come to her rescue like the wonderful guy you are. You save her from peril and most certain death, and the two of you fall in love and get married and have lots of sex and babies and live happily ever after."

"…Like I said, what kind of-"

"Look, I know your moods. The current one is uncharted. I can think of no better explanation other than that you're falling in love! Well, I could, but I choose to deny sensibility. So it's love!"

Gaara stared. "So you're saying that in three days, I… me, the boy who couldn't control his bloodlust until the age of 13 and grew up with everyone hating me… that I have fallen in love with a girl I pretty much just met? I would honestly have to say that even hoping for friendship is really pushing it."

Temari winced slightly. She hated when her brother talked like this. It wasn't like he was lying, but it made her feel awful remembering that she was partly responsible for how Gaara was back then. She was partially responsible for that poor, shattered soul of his. Shaking herself, she threw on another smile. "What's the problem? It makes even more sense when you put it like that. You don't know what love really is, so how would you know if you were in it? And isn't it probable-"

"No! No, it's not probable. It's bogus. Stop harping on it."

_Oh great. And I've made him feel disheartened once again, _Temari thought, grinding her teeth. Then she groaned loudly. "Argh, stop being such a weenie! You know I'm right. You, Mr. Dark Lonely Prince, have found love at last."

She was trying. She'd taken it too far, but she was trying to take it back as much as she could. And she could see in his eyes that he wanted to believe her. He wasn't completely bogged down just yet. He really wanted to be able to believe everything she was saying.

If she worked, she could fix things. If she worked, she could make his fairytale happen. He deserved it. But his eyes were still sad. He let out a small sigh.

"I'm just a bodyguard, not a prince. And Sakura is no damsel either. And there's no love going on. Camaraderie, maybe, but not love."

"…You've been listening to your voices again, haven't you?"

Gaara rolled his eyes and continued up the stairs (fairly sure her room was at least in the vicinity of the third floor, where all the bedrooms were). He really wished Temari would stop talking. She made him hopeful about things with her unconsidered speeches.

"I know _I_ just can't shut up, but I keep trying to tell you that their banter is even more unhelpful than mine. Gaara, come on! Of course _they_ won't know if it's love or not…they're a part of _you_. And if you can't figure it out, how are they supposed to? Honestly. Not only am I your older sister, but also I'm a girl. I can see these things with incredible ease. So you should listen when I say-"

"Oy. Temari. Listen to your brother when he says he's had a long walk with a heavy girl over his shoulder and wants to put her down. Where is she staying?" Gaara looked surprisingly weary, but his eyes had a bit more perk in them than they'd had a few minutes ago. Perhaps he was warming up to the possibilities that were being described to him.

And so Temari clapped him on the unburdened shoulder and skipped ahead of him happily. "Pshaw. You're a knight in sandy armor and she's your delicate desert flower."

She performed a small pirouette on the third floor landing, allowing herself to become slightly giddy. "Where is she staying? In the room right across from yours, of course. As you are her bodyguard, no other place is more fitting, lest it be in your very own room. And as much as I approve of that, I don't think you're quite ready yet."

Gaara grumbled in return, hiding a light blush while pretending to ignore his sister. He halfway hoped that she might go to bed herself, but she only smiled and led the way down the hall to Sakura's room, just like a bellhop, despite the fact that Gaara knew very well which room she meant. Even if he hadn't remembered (somehow) where his own room was situated for reference, he knew Temari wouldn't put a female guest in any other room but the one Sakura was staying in. The fact that it was close to his room was just a bonus.

The house in general was a very masculine one; only two rooms in the place would suit the tastes of your average girl. One of those was Temari's room (strangely enough, some might say), the other a spare bedroom.

And that spare bedroom plainly reeked of femininity. Upon entering it in full light, Gaara had to let his eyes adjust for a moment. A fruity scent similar to the one he had encountered in Sakura's house pervaded each square inch, and everything in there was decked out in cream, pastel pink, bronze, _mauve_.

_Ugh. And I'm reminded once again why I _always_ keep this door shut._

He darted in, quickly setting Sakura down on the bed. Within a moment, he was back in the comfort of the hall. Temari just stood there, giving him a funny look. Gaara narrowed his eyes at her.

"What? Those colors make me dizzy; plus, it stinks in there. Seriously. You should really open up a window, just so Sakura doesn't choke in her sleep."

"See, that's the problem. She's sleeping."

Gaara stared at his sister, nonplussed. "Yes, she is. So? You should be too."

"But you left her in her icky travel clothes! And she's on top of the covers and sheets. You should take better care of her than that." She tutted with mock disapproval.

"Oh, what, you want me to dig up some pajamas for her, change her, then tuck her in?"

_Of course she does, sick girl._

Temari grinned and winked. "Only because I know you want to."

Gaara threw up his hands. "Look, if you're so concerned, do it yourself. I'm going to my room."

And he did.

Temari just shook her head and went to turn off Sakura's lights. As she shut the door, she left a thought with the slumbering girl.

"I wonder if you even have a clue about what you've started…"

--------------------------------------------------------------

Gaara didn't get it. What had he done to deserve that kind of abuse after such a long journey?

Well, long with Sakura. The trip to Konoha had been fast, since it was just Gaara; as he still didn't sleep, he'd been able to cover much more ground. Leaving Konoha, the trip had turned into the regular three-day jaunt.

But he didn't mind so much. It hadn't been that bad, he realized as he shut his door and went to open his window.

_She's not that annoying, I guess. At least, when she's not making me carry her most of the way. _

Oddly enough, no other voices interjected. So he pondered having a few hours of peace to watch the moon go down.

"Hey in there."

_Apparently WAY too much to hope for… _Gaara turned his eyes back to the doorway of his haven. In it stood his sister, holding a tray and looking surprisingly down.

"I brought you some tea. It was ready for when you got home, but you came up here without even glancing towards the kitchen and bringing tea is one of my many sisterly duties. So welcome back."

"What's with the face? Having mood swings?"

Temari barely reacted. "Nah. I just feel pretty low."

"What for?"

"I always do this to you, don't I? I push things on you that you aren't ready for. I ruin good things that you've got going for you. I mess you up and hardly ever bother to try and fix you." She shook her head and looked at him strangely. "Am I a bad sister? If I'm too much, you can tell me to lay off, you know. I won't mind. I mean, I never really learned, so…"

Gaara looked out the window again. "You aren't a bad sister. Not… not anymore. And the things you say make me feel good more than they make me feel bad. As for today, _I_ messed myself up today. I was messed up before I even entered the village. Of course, you didn't help, but then you kind of did. Does that make any sense?"

"A little. And it makes me feel better."

"Good. I'm just taking my time becoming normal is all. I actually contemplated hormones on the trip back from Konoha."

"Ah! A definite start to normalcy. I'm proud of you. I also have no doubt that Sakura is a very lucky girl."

Gaara looked down at his sister. She was resting her head on the windowsill, staring at the courtyard below.

"…Lucky how?"

Temari looked up with a small smile. "Lucky to have a great guy like you keeping her safe. And, I don't doubt, lucky to have a great guy like you as her friend."

With this, she got up, pecked him on top of his head, and left. Gaara felt oddly elated.

_**As much as she doesn't think before she speaks, she has a way of picking you up, doesn't she? **_

**Yeah. She also makes a lot of sense. Didn't we have a conversation earlier in which we all agreed that we were clueless about the inner workings of the heart? Don't worry, boy. Let her say it's love. For all we know, it just might be.**

_**You know, I do believe that is the most eloquent thing I've ever heard you say.**_

**Oh, but of course, 'cuz I done been practicing, dickwad. **

_**And there it goes…**_


	13. Just A Bit Touchy

Don't you love the smell of new chapters in the morning? Ah, just as good as coffee.

Well, that's a toss-up, really.

Anyway, this chapter was just kind of all… hi, look, here I am! Beneath the ridiculousness, there is plot. I promise.

Even in the revision, I had no real control over it. This chapter likes having its way.

Disclaimer: It's too early to argue. NO, I don't own Naruto. _–shock-_

---------------------------------------------------------

Just a Bit Touchy

Sasuke was really starting to wish he had left out a few choice details when he told his story to Kabuto.

Like…all of them.

"I honestly can't believe you! You are such a loser! Oh, just look at your hair…" The silver-haired man chortled to himself as he continued healing the various small wounds on Sasuke's person.

"Look, it's not like I meant for it to happen!" Sasuke shot back heatedly, "I just seriously underestimated the teachings of the Fifth, that's all!"

"Yeah, says you. She didn't even use her super strength on you. If she had, I promise you I wouldn't be laughing nearly as much."

Kabuto stepped back over to his medicine cabinets, riffling through a few of them for some gauze. "Or perhaps I'd be laughing a whole lot more. It's difficult to say. I'd have to be in the moment to really decide."

Sasuke childishly made a face at Kabuto's back. "I would like to have seen you deal with her, Mr. Big Stuff, if you're so confident…"

He heaved a big sigh, fingering his lopped locks.

_It _is_ pretty bad… That girl gives a mean haircut._

Kabuto returned to the examination table, packing some new healing horrors in small bottles. "Nah. I prefer the barber."

"Oh, shove it up your ass. When you're done healing me, if you could fetch some scissors, I'll _fix_ it."

"More like _I'll_ fix it. You'd just mangle it. That is to say, more so than it is now." The medic snickered quietly, eyes gleaming. "But after this, you can't ever call _me_ a nerd again. I can't believe you came all the way back here looking like that. If you weren't so pretty, I'd bet you'd be the laughing stock of every village between here and Leaf."

"Shut up," Sasuke snarled, but only because Kabuto was right. People _had_ laughed at him…but only the guys. The Uchiha good looks had once again saved him from complete ridicule, something that had been happening frequently after he'd run to Sound. The ridicule, that is.

_Damn assbow. And it's not like the cow-print accessories help anything._

"Ah, but if only I had such devilish good looks as you…" Kabuto grinned at the seething boy and worked his way up said boy's left arm. "It doesn't seem like they did you much good on your mission though. I thought Sakura was completely in love with you; that's how you made it out to sound. That's pretty much the only reason Orochimaru-sama let you go on this mission alone, actually. So what's the deal? Tell Uncle Kabs everything."

He made a mock concerned face and pulled back quickly to dodge Sasuke's wild swipe, which was only centimeters away from knocking off the glasses.

"I thought she was! That's how it was years ago. Back in the day, she would follow me around all the time and ask me out. Not just her, really, but every girl in town. She was just the most persistent, and the closest to me. She was on my team, you know."

"Yeah…so what's your point? Did she find some new guy while you were off playing the big bad wolf? Or did you really lose _that much_ of your old sex appeal? And before the haircut even! Scandalous."

"I told you to shut UP! I don't know! I asked, but she didn't respond." Sasuke crossed his arms and proceeded to stew. He felt like breaking something expensive.

Kabuto nodded, cleaning up his supplies. "So this was before or after you blasted her with an ineffective Chidori? Because shooting first and asking questions later has been proven to not work, even if the gun is loaded with blanks."

Sasuke nearly took the medic out with his next swing. "Before. I attacked _after_ I kissed her."

Kabuto blinked at him. "Wait, what? After you _missed_ her? Did I hear that correctly?"

Sasuke sighed, trying to calm down and not paying attention to what he was saying. "After I _kissed_ her, idiot. What, do you think I suck so much with my techniques that I'd miss her on the first attempt? And don't even go off on that, because I _did_ hit her. My Chidori just wasn't complete yet."

Kabuto did a double take. "You…you _kissed_ her? Like, in reality? Seriously?"

"Oh, what, are you deaf? Yes, kissed her! K-i-s-s-e-d kissed, as in lips touching lips _kissed_ her!" The raven-haired boy shook said hair around furiously before losing his patience with it and getting up to search out some scissors himself.

"WHAT? You had your very first kiss out there on your mission and you didn't tell me STRAIGHT AWAY? I'm hurt, Sasuke-chan. I thought…" Kabuto began to sniffle, "I thought we'd tell each other everything!"

Sasuke looked around at him disgustedly, then allowing a punishing half-smile to grace his face. "Cut it out, you moron, before Orochimaru-sama walks in and thinks that I saved some of Sakura's hurt for you. You're his favorite, after all, and I wouldn't want to get in trouble with _Oro-dono_ after having such problems on my mission."

Kabuto chuckled darkly as he fished some scissors out of a drawer completely opposite the set Sasuke had been looking in. "Spare me. And stop trying to push the honor that is being Orochimaru-sama's favorite onto me. We both know he prefers the younger ones…"

Sasuke's third wild swipe was a combination of trying to grab the scissors and whacking Kabuto in the stomach. He missed by a mere inch in both of his endeavors, which gave the medic nin just enough leverage to topple the angry boy and sit on him.

"Besides, why would Orochimaru-sama think you could hurt _me_ when you can't even beat up a girl?" Kabuto murmured sweetly into Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke's eyes bulged. "Oh my god, that's IT! I am going to KILL YOU!"

This was followed by a rather pathetic attempt by the younger to toss the elder from his back. He managed at least to get his knees back under him, but Kabuto's dense muscle mass wasn't going anywhere.

_I'll bet that jerk stuck himself to me with chakra, even…_

Sasuke felt his urge to fight drain all over the floor. Sighing yet again, he muttered, "You sexist bastard. Sakura has changed greatly over the years. Her training has made her into a new person. That girl isn't an ordinary girl any longer."

"Nope! She's an _extraordinary_ girl!" Kabuto crowed, tapping the side of his nose and having far too much fun with Sasuke's bad mood. "And seeing as you're an _extraordinary_ boy, you two should totally get married and have _extraordinary_ children and live in an _extraordinary_ village in an _extraordinary_ house with…"

This went on for a good while, much to Sasuke's dismay; after all, not only was Kabuto still sitting on him, but he had taken to rocking back and forth, effectively mashing Sasuke's midsection into the tile. This was, understandably, quite uncomfortable.

He vaguely wondered, whilst listening to the older boy describe his and Sakura's _extraordinary_ vegetables in their _extraordinary_ garden, where Orochimaru actually was. He should have appeared an hour or so ago to figure out why Sasuke had failed so miserably.

And then, after Sasuke had had a proper tongue lashing (figuratively speaking), they would formulate a new plan; this plan would involve locating Sakura again, re-planning all of their moves, and then having Kabuto go with Sasuke to retrieve the girl.

And all this so Orochimaru could have his stupid arms healed.

"You..know…?" Sasuke grunted out, trying to breathe, "This mission..was…only bec..ause…you could…n't fix..Orochima…ru-sama's…arms by..yourself…"

Kabuto finished his rocking and stood up, feeling a tad sorry for the boy's crushed organs. Sasuke gasped loudly in relief.

"Yes, that's true. But I'm not nearly as well trained as Tsunade-sama is. I'm not quite as powerful either, as much as it irks me to say."

"Huh…thank God."

Kabuto set the scissors just out of Sasuke's flexing grip and leaned against the examination table. "I have no use for such power anyway. Not with my lack of activity."

"Sure," Sasuke huffed, managing to wrap his fingers around the cold metal, "You're a real lazy son of a bitch, aren't you?"

Kabuto rolled his eyes. "Calling me names isn't going to make you sound mature, Sasu-chan. It's just going to make me laugh at you behind your back."

"Yeah, but you do that anyway. Don't think I haven't noticed." Sasuke stood with difficulty, cracking his spine back into its regular place. "Ugh, you fucker, I think you pinched nine different nerves. I'm surprised I can still walk."

"Poor baby."

Sasuke sighed, displaying great annoyance. "Do you _ever_ shut up?" He glanced over at the other, then shook his head. "Never mind, I can answer that myself: NO."

Kabuto only chuckled. Sasuke walked over to the mirror on the wall, frowning at his reflection. He needed a shower and his hair definitely needed some care. "So how should I cut this mess?"

"I already told you I'd do it. Give me the scissors."

"Fuck you! You're just gonna mess it up more! And why'd you give 'em to me if you were gonna do it, anyway?"

"They were incentive. You're up, aren't you? Now give 'em here!"

After a brief tussle, Kabuto was wielding the scissors with incredible speed. Sasuke was cursing just as quickly. In the end, they were sitting in opposite corners of the room, panting and glaring, one massaging his forearm and the other neurotically touching his freshly-cut hair.

Kabuto was the first to speak. "Why the hell did you bite me? Your hair looks fine short. Just because you strive to be Orochimaru-sama doesn't mean you have to grow your hair like his."

Sasuke showed his teeth in a feral manner. "You made it look like it used to when I first showed up in Sound. I don't like it that way."

"Oh, does it bring back bad memories? Memories of fucking huge mistakes you've made?"

"Shut up! I don't want to look like a little kid anymore is all!"

"You're too tall to be mistaken for a little kid, even from a few miles away. Besides, maybe if you look like you did then and act a little less like an asshole, Sakura will remember how she used to feel about you."

Sasuke snorted, running his hair through both sets of fingers. "Sure, she'll just conveniently forget that I nearly killed her and get lost down memory lane, right."

Kabuto massaged his temples in an exasperated manner. "I wouldn't give you that much credit, and I doubt she will either. But don't underestimate your look. And don't underestimate the power of a kiss either." He stood up, inspecting his fresh bite marks. "You better not have picked up rabies on the way back…"

Sasuke thought about this (ignoring the rabies remark) and realized that Kabuto had a good point.

_If a mere peck was sufficient enough to give me an opening the first time, just think how much of an attack I could get in with a full-frontal sort of approach…_

"I've been meaning to ask, though…" Kabuto said thoughtfully, turning back to his counterpart, "Why did you use Chidori on her? You know very well that it's a killing technique, and Orochimaru-sama wanted her alive. What's with the contrary action?"

Sasuke glared. "I wasn't aiming to kill her. I just wanted take her down a few pegs. I'm not just spouting bullshit when I say she's really strong."

Kabuto watched him carefully for a moment, and then shook his head. "I just hope, for your sake, that Orochimaru-sama accepts that answer."

Sasuke was forced to agree.


	14. Oh Happy Day

This chapter also kind of took off on its own. Revision does crazy things to stories.

I don't own these people.

Damn it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Oh Happy Day

Gaara had a tendency to dread the morning. He didn't despise cheery things like sunrises anymore (at least, not openly), but he hated the anticipation for the day to begin. The sun would come up and then he still had to wait another couple of hours until anything started moving around.

And Gaara had really come to despise waiting.

Randomly, he'd unearthed a stash of old books to entertain himself with the night before. He'd chalked this up to good luck, since he'd never seen them before. But the sad part was that they'd only lasted for the night…

_Speed-reading sucks sometimes. Too bad... I guess I'll just have to go back to my usual night watching routine. Anyway, I'm thinking breakfast now. _

As he stepped out into the hall, he was tempted to check on Sakura.

_But why? She's perfectly safe…ah, just a peek then. It would suck if I were wrong… I _wouldn't_ be, but you know…_

**You bet it'd suck, bucko. That Hokage lady would have your liver for lunch, with a side of still-beating boy heart. **

_**Ugh. What a charming image to greet the day with…**_

With a grimace, Gaara slipped across the hall and cracked Sakura's door open a smidge. He blinked helplessly in the gloom for a few moments, but was eventually able to make out a lump on the bed. It was breathing peacefully, occasionally whistling through its nose.

_**Aww. What a cutie. **_

**You freak. You aren't even tangible! Leave the head over heels business to the kid!**

_**What the hell is wrong with you? It's not like you're tangible either, numbnuts. And do I detect a hint of jealousy? I swear, your mental processes completely confuse me. Why does anyone even listen to you?**_

**Oh, don't be coy with me. I see what's going on! You-**

_Well great! She's fine! Breakfast time!_

And with this little interjection, the boy shut the door and stumbled down the stairs. He couldn't believe his voices were fighting over a girl.

---------------------------------------------------

Sakura awoke to a strange, dark room. This thought didn't scare her for a good five minutes.

But hey, she _was_ still kind of out of it. A girl deserves a break every once in a while, right?

When it occurred to her that she didn't recognize any of the furniture around her, she figured it might be a good idea to look out the window. All thoughts of her having a bodyguard were gone from her head; it didn't sink in that there was _no way_ some group of common bandits would have been able to run off with her.

She was halfway across the room, however, when the door swung open. Turning quickly, she was greeted by a very bright light and a very smiley girl.

"Good morning! How do you feel this wonderful day?" A body flew past Sakura to the window, throwing back the curtains to let in even more of that vicious light, which was joyously tearing its way through Sakura's eyelids.

The pink-haired girl blinked her eyes into submission, turning as much away from the brightness as she could. "Temari?"

"You remember me!"

"…Yes."

It wasn't hard, given that Sakura had been on quite a few different missions with the Sand sister in recent years. And Temari wasn't the sort of person you could just forget. She was far too loud for that.

"Well then, now that we've got that cleared up…what do you think of your temporary home?" Temari gestured out the window, and Sakura approached slowly.

She gaped.

"There's been quite a bit of remodeling around here lately," Temari said proudly. "This town has really blossomed. Now, it's not only functional as a ninja village, but beautiful too! You should see our gardens."

Sakura was able to look away from the sand wonderland that was Suna only briefly. "Gardens?"

"Mm. Some guy dug up this oasis and turned it into a kind of park. It's absolutely gorgeous, and a must for any tourist. And that would be you! I should take you one day, or make Gaara escort you. He doesn't like the sound of it, so he hasn't yet been. But…you're _special_. I'm sure he'd do it for _you_…"

Sakura wasn't paying much attention to Temari's voice. Her eyes were nearly stuck to the window. "Maybe if I threatened to run over there by myself… I mean, he's my bodyguard, so he has to go where I go. Sasuke might be waiting there for me, and he has to protect me from everything…"

Temari smiled to herself and pulled Sakura back over to the bed. "You can look more later. Let's find you some fresh clothes."

"Yeah…" Sakura's eyes were straining back towards the window. Then she noticed a gap in the information. "Wait a minute. How did I get here, anyway?"

Temari had pulled open Sakura's pack and was going through it with discretion. "Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other _very_ much, they-"

"Here in this bedroom, not here on earth."

"_Oh_! Well, it seems like you fell asleep en route for the second or third time, so Gaara was lending a hand. He said things always moved along so much faster when he didn't have to keep picking you up off the ground and waking you back up."

Sakura blinked, then groaned loudly, clapping her hands to her face. "Are you saying he had to carry me _again_?"

"Don't worry about it. It was cute!"

Sakura groaned again. "And here I thought I had somehow managed to sleepwalk my way to a bed, like I'd developed some sort of new skill: Unconscious Consciousness."

"Don't sweat it. I know how hard it is for you young kids to keep away from each other."

"…Please be kidding."

Temari rolled her eyes. "Oh, you should know better than to listen to your elders anyway." She tossed Sakura an outfit. "That should do you well for your first day here."

Then she disappeared, leaving Sakura to get cleaned up, a task she threw herself into wholeheartedly. After struggling for a few minutes, the girl finally managed the first step in her routine: peeling off her three-day-old outfit.

_Yuck. Travel grit does not age well. _

She then took the opportunity to change her bandages, which were somewhat overdue. After a tooth brushing and a brief tussle with her hairbrush, Sakura was ready to eat. After a short meeting with her conscience, however, she elected to wait for the mistress of the house to return. It seemed quite rude to just wander off, even if she was going to be staying there for a while.

Unfortunately, Temari didn't come back. After twenty minutes of pacing, Sakura struck out on her own.

Peering out of her room and looking both ways, Sakura saw rows of doors in a plethora of earth tones, all shut. But the door across the hall was ajar.

_Maybe…a good place to start? Or should I just go downstairs? Er…if I knew where the stairs were…_

Curiosity took over, or so she told herself later. And she had to find out what she'd been put across from, right? Yes. This was justified. After all, if she had to ask a maid or something where her room was, she needed a reference, right? Ninjas were cautious, not nosy. Also, it was just sitting there open. Anyone could walk in.

Sakura slipped across and peeked through the opening, feeling slightly apprehensive. All she could see was the corner of a huge pouf, striped in burgundy and cream. Poking her head almost all the way in, she spotted a rather large bookcase and a gilt end table with photographs on it. Finally opening the door all the way, she noticed a behemoth of a bed, a brass teapot, and a pile of…

_..Are those…fairy tales?_

They were. Sakura approached the low table they were sitting on; _Sleeping Beauty_ crowned the pile, which contained such big names as _Snow White_, _Beauty and the Beast_, and _Cinderella_.

Sakura turned her head and found herself face to face with a massive bedpost. Stepping back, she admired the object in its entirety. She wasn't much for furniture, but she found herself liking the bed quite a bit. It was large and ancient, with a hefty canopy and intricate scrollwork on the posts and headboard. The sheets were crimson.

Upon wandering over and examining it more closely, Sakura noticed that the bookcase was carved with the same designs as the bed frame. She had never seen a carved bookcase before, and it intrigued her.

_The person who made this must have _really_ cherished his books…_

She skimmed the titles, finding a few of interest, and made a mental note to borrow them during her stay. Then her eyes found themselves locked on the picture table. Her feet moved to it of their own accord, but she didn't mind. She wanted to see.

As she made her quiet way across the room, Sakura realized that she didn't know whose room this was. The only evidence that someone lived in there was the teapot and the books, and even those were considered clues by speculation alone.

But then she was staring at a small herd of picture frames, each containing their own little piece of the past.

The first one she picked up was a picture of Temari. The girl was in a long black gown, decadently embroidered with silver swirls.

The picture looked like it had been torn down the middle, right where her arm was going over someone else's shoulders.

Then there was an old picture of Kankuro. He looked to be about five.

_Huh. So young and already into makeup…_

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. It looked like a cosmetics store had exploded, with the little boy in the middle of it.

She wondered briefly who had taken the picture. The mother of the three siblings would have been long dead. From what Temari had told her in previous years, having Gaara had been her undoing, what with being a sacrifice and all.

Over the course of a few missions, Sakura had come to understand why Gaara had acted the way he did when they were younger. But now she had some cause to wonder if maybe he really _had_ changed. The Gaara who had been traveling with her was certainly not any Gaara she had known before.

Abruptly, paranoia took hold. Sakura felt like she was being watched, and figured that she probably was. She decided to resume her search for the stairs elsewhere.

Before she could move, however, one of the photos caught her eye. Its subject was Gaara and he didn't seem to realize that a picture was being taken. He was crouched on the windowsill of his room, staring out into the sunset (if the lighting was any indication), a full cup of tea forgotten in his hands.

He looked very lonely.

With a tiny hurt in her heart, Sakura turned to go. But upon looking up, she suddenly found herself eye to eye with Gaara, who was watching her intently. With a small squeak, she fell backwards. Gaara merely smirked.

"Am I that frightening?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, trying not to blush about being caught. "You? About as much as a newborn kitten. You just appeared in such an abrupt fashion… Er, where…where did you come from?"

His face went blank once more. "The hall? I was just downstairs making breakfast and decided to come check on you again." It really didn't bother him that she had been snooping. She seemed to think otherwise. To put her more at ease, he tried on a reassuring smile.

Sakura looked at him like he'd grown a new head. Gaara touched his face subconsciously.

"What? Am I doing it wrong? I'm trying to smile, is it not working?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, you're smiling all right. I'm just not used to seeing you smile. And you're apparently not used to _doing_ it either, if the clenching of your jaw is any indication."

"Heh… yeah, it isn't something that happens very often. Feel privileged." He let the emotional display fade with some relief. Sakura felt only slightly awkward now.

"So… you cook?" she asked, pushing herself to a stand. The boy nodded and headed back out the door.

"Hope you're hungry."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"This has to be a joke. There's no way you could have the skills to make a meal like this! You're a _guy_!" Sakura stared at the feast-filled table, eyes taking in everything way too fast and making her brain spin. Then she looked up to notice Gaara glowering at her, and blanched.

"Okay, that was sexist of me. What I meant was that you're the Kazekage! Also, shinobi aren't often _this_ talented. Where did you find the time to learn your art?"

The red-haired boy shook his head, a light flush coming to his cheeks. "Geez, get over it already. It's not art, just food. And it isn't difficult at all to cook if you can read a cookbook, a skill which obviously eludes you if this amazes you so much."

Temari strolled in, carrying yet another platter to add to the melee. "Play nice now, you two. I don't want to have to start enforcing time-outs."

Gaara glared in her general direction. _What does that even mean?_

Then he groaned loudly. "Don't you have better things to do than hang around here, Temari? Like maybe hang around with that no-good boyfriend of yours? I'm sure he hasn't had nearly enough of you as I have. I don't want him to be jealous."

The elder sister grinned widely in her brother's face. "Oh, but I'm seeing him later. Right now, I've got all the time in the world to spend with you, cherished little brother. You know that our lengthy greeting last night was far too brief for siblings such as ourselves."

"You know perfectly well that idiot wouldn't mind you showing up right now. God knows all you two do is h-"

"So you've got a boyfriend, Temari?" Sakura asked, attempting to quell the bickering whilst piling breakfast goodies on her plate. The older girl nodded, playing with her skirt coyly.

"I do. And he's wonderful. A total bad boy, of course, but every girl has to have a taste of the wild side _sometime_, right? Right?"

Gaara dropped his head onto the table with a satisfying _thunk_.

"…I guess." Sakura sat down quickly, not able to fully agree there. She really had no wish to taste any more of the wild side than she had already. And it wasn't like she could talk about love at all anyway, at least not from an experienced point of view.

Temari allowed a small grin to creep onto her face. "So you know what I mean, huh? Got a few stories of your own? Pray tell."

"Would you please stop badgering her? She's had a long trip here, as well as a stressful time leaving her home village, and she doesn't need you getting all up in her business. And I would have to say, on a personal level, that such talk is especially not necessary at the breakfast table." Gaara shot a glare between the serving dishes. "Besides, weren't you on a diet?"

"Pshaw! Why would I do a silly thing like that? Guys _like_ girls with a little meat on their bones, wouldn't you agree?" Here she turned back to Sakura, who choked upon realizing how full her plate was.

Gaara gave a wordless whimper of agony and stood up. "I give up. It is far too early to deal with you, so I'm going back upstairs. Come up when you're done, Sakura-"

"Oooooooh! He wants you to meet him upst_aaaaaaaaai_rs! Yow!"

"-so we can go over the conditions of your stay here would you SHUT UP, DEAR SISTER?" With this, the (flustered under the surface) boy disappeared into the hallway.

"I really can't say I understand what's going on with you two," Sakura muttered, attempting to resume her scarfing at a more regular pace. Temari giggled.

"I'm sure you'll understand soon enough."

Sakura stabbed a grape with her fork. "As an only child, I highly doubt I could. I also highly doubt I'd want to."

Temari shrugged. The girl had a point.


	15. Slight Discord In Paradise

I was a bit disappointed with this chapter at first, but going over it again, I really like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody because I don't and… do I really have to do these anymore? I say no. I'll let you know if I _start_ owning Naruto, however, because that'd be fucking awesome.

---------------------------------------------------------

Slight Discord in Paradise

At the sound of a door opening, Tsunade groaned and buried her eyes further in her sleeve. "Go ahead and report. I'll try not to fall asleep."

…_Again._

Kotetsu cleared his throat quietly. "Actually, I'm here to collect your paperwork, Hokage-sama."

The older woman opened her eyes slowly and sat up. "Ugh. I'm sorry. I really need sleep. And I mean actual sleep, not just a quick doze in the middle of some ninja's mission detail."

"I think what you need is a certain apprentice back to order you to go to bed."

Tsunade's head hit the desk. "Not you too! Please. I get enough from Naruto without one of my _assistants_ starting in on me."

Kotetsu allowed a small grin to appear on his face. "Sorry. Everybody worries, right? I can't help it. You look awful."

"Gee, thanks."

A hand appeared on her arm.

"Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that. I just want to keep you healthy in Sakura's absence. When she returns, I'll turn my babysitting duties over to her. But in the meantime, please listen to the concerns others have for you. It might prevent, you know, death from exhaustion or something."

The Godaime sighed and leaned back in her chair to look up at the overworked chuunin. "I think you're due for a raise, don't you? You have been so incredibly helpful to me ever since I called this office my own, not even counting all the work I _should_ be doing that I foist onto you and Izumo. Not that I won't stop doing that, but you know… I'm grateful."

Kotetsu smiled again. "I like being helpful. It comes naturally. But I guess that's just good luck on your part."

"Mm. I'm definitely lucky to have you." The woman mumbled sleepily, closing her eyes again and sinking into a more cushy position. Kotetsu blushed involuntarily, holding back a grin. Tsunade's eyes fluttered open again just in time to catch the tail end of this. "But I'm afraid I can't sleep just yet, as I'm still waiting for Kakashi's report. Ironically, his report is last, but most important. I promise, however, that I'll nap right after he's done, okay?"

The spiky-haired shinobi leaned down slightly, lips inches from her ear. "As you wish, Hokage-sama."

With a slight curve to his lips, he picked up the dreadfully thin stack of papers he'd come for and left. Tsunade smiled to herself as she heard the door close, then opened her eyes at the sound of a light footstep outside the window.

"Well, that was just disgusting. So… _cute_…" Kakashi slipped in over the sill. "Ick."

"Oh, don't you even _pretend_ to think we're involved. Honestly."

The masked nin smirked. "Would it be so bad? Imagine having such a hot-blooded, youthful ninja under your command _and_ at your beck and call, at the office _and_ in the-"

"Don't you have a report for me?"

"…I suppose. Let's say the mission status is 'good'. Sakura arrived in fine condition and is being expertly taken care of."

"The area is secure?"

"Of course. Gaara has a brilliant security squad. And even with that, he's keeping a very close watch on her. I wouldn't worry. As for Sasuke, I don't plan on going out of my way to watch him. He's definitely in Sound, and if he moves, I have a way of knowing."

Tsunade nodded. "I trust the Kazekage wholeheartedly. I also have great faith in Sakura's charms. I don't think Gaara quite understands how Sasuke is operating, though. Even we don't _really_ know why he tried to kidnap Sakura. I have guesses, of course, but nothing has been proven." She put her head back on the desk.

Kakashi examined the woman quizzically. "You're serious? _Guesses_?"

She glared up at him, watching his head shake back and forth. "It seems pretty obvious to me. It should be even more obvious to you, considering your history with Orochimaru."

Tsunade put her head back down. "You know, this is stupidly ridiculous. It shouldn't be, but it is."

---------------------------------------------------------

"I wonder if everything is okay. I mean, Mr. Sandman is a great guy, and I _know_ he's keeping Sakura safe, but I want confirmation. Proof!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "I applaud you for at least having the mental capacity to make up a code name, but couldn't you think up a better one? Like, one that doesn't point fingers in the obvious right direction?"

Naruto glared. "I wasn't thinking too hard about it! If it bothers you so much, _you_ make one up!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Do it!"

"Shut it."

The irritated blondes both turned to glare at a certain pineapple-haired jounin who was currently sprawled on the ground, eyes partially cracked open to let in the sky. He blinked, rotated his head, and sent them back an equally fierce look. "You're disturbing the peace."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did our little argument bother you?" Ino's lips formed a tight little smile. "God, can't you even pretend to care what's going on? You're a friend of Sakura's, aren't you?"

"…Yes."

"Then where do you channel all these absent concerns? Where does all of it go? How are you so… so…" Ino searched for the right word, taking in the boy's prone position, "so unmoved? Relaxed? Dead?"

"He's still breathing, though. That'd make him _un_dead." Naruto pointed out.

"Don't get technical with me, I'm in no mood."

Shikamaru moaned pathetically. Of all the people in the village, _these_ two were the only ones free enough to hang out with him?

Ino's eyes crackled. "What now, you slug?"

"I just don't see why you're being so crabby. There's no need and no reason."

"Shut up, you condescending bastard. I have plenty of reasons to act like this." Ino turned her head in the complete opposite direction of Shikamaru, who allowed himself a silent snicker.

"Right, because you have such a stressful life, Miss Yamanaka."

He rolled onto his side to better view his companions. "You spoke of concerns. I can't really say I have any. Gaara is more than capable of taking care of our favorite kunoichi, even if she decides to be troublesome. He has so much power, even now, that it's pointless to worry. _I_ think you all just have too much time on your hands."

"Oh, right. That's definitely why we worry. We have nothing better to do! Hey Naruto, let's go ask the Hokage for a mission right now!"

Shikamaru's eyes were closed again, lip curled in a very slight sneer. "Why do you always have to be so dramatic?"

"Why do _you_ always have to be such an asshole!"

"…Because you're so dramatic."

Naruto poked Ino in the side before she could retort. "Why do you bother arguing with him? You're like an old married couple."

Shikamaru groaned horribly and rolled around in the grass. "Why does everyone _say_ that? Geez! Eventually, people are going to actually think we've tied the knot."

Ino rolled her eyes once more. "And don't you know our fathers would _loooove_ that…"

Then her eyes brightened. "But speaking of couples, I'm really surprised that Sakura didn't make a bigger deal out of Sasuke's spaz attack. I mean, when he was still in Konoha, she pushed and pushed to show him what she could do, to prove how great her skills were so that he might come to respect her and fall in love, yada yada yada, ad nauseum, the end. Then he shows up back here on a mission to retrieve her because of the great power she's developed and what? She doesn't even consider the implications of this?"

"What implications? He was on a _mission_. It didn't mean he was going to whisk her off to some romantic getaway once he'd got her. It meant that he was going to bind and gag her and _drag_ her off to that snake dude's lair. Given Sakura's smarts, I think she noticed this early on and made an intelligent decision regarding these _feelings_ you're harping on."

"Damn it, Shikamaru, you just don't understand how girls think!"

"No, I just don't understand how _you_ think. I mean, honestly, who in their right mind would be thinking 'ooh! He just tried to kill me! I think he likes me!' as they watch their knight in shining armor come around for another attack? I don't know about you, but I would like to give Sakura her due credit instead of demeaning her by suggesting that she is _still_ completely head over heels for the Uchiha jerk."

"Girls can't help it if their hearts don't listen to reason!"

"So Sakura's heart is unreasonable? You know this?"

Naruto, feeling left out, decided to intervene. "She told me that she stopped loving him a long time ago, like right after he left. She said she was more worried about him than broken-hearted."

"See, Ino? Listen to her teammate."

The blonde girl's head was flicking back and forth rapidly. "But _I'm_ her best friend! I know more about her heart than you do, Naruto! Girls can tell other girls a lot more than they can tell to guys! That's just how it is! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!"

And with a scream of rage and/or frustration, Ino leapt to her feet and stormed away. Shikamaru shook his head and relaxed once more, ignoring Naruto's wide eyes and slack jaw. Eventually, the remaining blonde regained his senses and was able to calm down again. He shook his head slowly, letting out a big breath.

"I will never understand women."

"_I_ will never want to."

Naruto peered down at Shikamaru, who was looking back up at him with a wry grin, and chuckled.

"Guess you got me there."


	16. When Emotions Collide

This chapter took me forever, but only because the part with the main characters wasn't working. Oddly enough, the Sound nins happened fluidly. I guess I'm in more of an evil mood right now… Anyway, it's sort of long, at least, and I have this Friday and next Monday off. I expect to be completely free this weekend, and so expect to have another chapter up this weekend, if not two.

But let's not get our hopes up… -shamed-

--------------------------------------

When Emotions Collide

"Mmmmmm… I sense a bit of jealousy behind your actions. Perhaps also a hint of discontent, am I right?" Orochimaru turned to look at Sasuke, gaze roving lazily across the boy's face.

"Anything is possible, I suppose." Sasuke easily kept a straight face. In front of Orochimaru, masking his emotions was the easiest thing in the world. It was something about the Snake Sannin's unnaturally bright eyes… He found that whenever he was confronted with them, they simply burned away any thoughts of being human.

Kabuto was a different story. His eyes elicited intense anger on Sasuke's part and somewhat of a lust for blood. The actions that backed these infuriating eyes only served to further enrage the boy. All in all, Kabuto was bad news for someone wanting to live up to Itachi's standards.

And, as luck would have it, he was always at Orochimaru's side.

That is, when he wasn't busy making Sasuke's life a most annoying hell. The boy had never quite understood how one could be a right-hand henchman and still manage to follow someone else around all the time without their master becoming upset, or at the very least _extremely_ inconvenienced.

"Your thoughts are drifting again… I wonder, are you regretting what you've done now that we speak of it?"

Sasuke came out of his reverie, staring blankly at his teacher. The intense golden eyes were watching him, trying to guess what was going on in his head. The boy occasionally wondered if perhaps Orochimaru _did_ have ESP and just liked to screw with him. You know, putting on a confused face and acting helpless while really knowing exactly what Sasuke was thinking about. It was a creepy concept.

"I highly doubt it. Sasuke-kun is not one to regret his actions. At least, not anymore." Kabuto's voice echoed in the large room. Sasuke focused harder on Orochimaru's golden irises. One look at his silver-haired counterpart and he might just be forced over the edge.

He still hadn't gotten over the whole bandaging mishap, the latest in a recent string of tortures. Sasuke had taken to wrapping his hands before he trained, you see. A few days ago, he couldn't find his usual roll of bandages so, being the resourceful guy he is, he merely snuck into the infirmary and stole some.

He discovered later, however, that these particular bandages had a difficult-to-detect adhesive substance on the side he'd put next to his skin. This adhesive had been most resilient, much to Sasuke's dismay. After ripping countless shreds of skin from his hand, he was forced to seek the maddening medic for help.

Upon seeing Sasuke's plight, all Kabuto did was laugh. Then he walked off to busy himself elsewhere, leaving a steaming (and bleeding) boy behind him. It was only at 1:00 AM that morning that Kabuto had deigned to remove the painful strips of cloth and heal what damage they'd caused.

Sasuke bit the inside of his lip to prevent a grimace. _Bastard. I can't believe he's seriously considered to be worth more than I am… Such a fucking bastard…_

"What's wrong, Sasuke-_kun_?" Ugh. The sickening smirk that surely adorned said bastard's face was easily understood in his voice.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Orochimaru chuckled. "So stiff tonight, eh, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke twitched, keeping his eyes resolutely unfocused in Orochimaru's general direction. "Don't know what you mean, Orochimaru-sama. I'm the same as always."

"It's just his time of the month. I wouldn't worry, sir."

Sasuke twitched again, much more violently. Orochimaru's lips curled into a sly smirk.

"You're so mean to each other. I wish you boys could get past your differences. It would make things so much simpler."

Sasuke had to agree, but refused to cooperate. There was no way he would tolerate such abuse with a smile on his face; he was no masochist.

Well, not for Kabuto anyway.

"Ah, well… I suppose it can't be helped. Both of you are too stubborn. But we have other matters to discuss…" The Snake Sannin's grin hardened. "The primary issue here is the retrieval of Haruno Sakura. Since the recent discovery that merely transferring into your body won't help me, I've become a bit more anxious about my arms, Sasuke. I rather miss them. So why is it that Sakura is not here with us at the moment?"

"She was much stronger than I'd anticipated. She sensed my movements quickly and incapacitated me." Sasuke fibbed.

"And how did you manage it so that there was even the slightest possibility of her _not_ living through your encounter?"

A shiver ran down Sasuke's spine. This was the part he'd been dreading. "I wasn't aiming to kill her. And yes," he glared, eyes flickering at Kabuto, "I know it's a killing jutsu, but I only wanted to injure her enough to take her down. I missed her vital points on purpose. It's the truth. Why would I kill Sakura?"

Orochimaru stared at him, smile completely gone, waiting for any trace of guilt to appear on the boy's face. He didn't seem to have quite as much trust in his young ward as he had in previous years. Nevertheless, this action was pointless, since Sasuke felt no guilt about the matter. Sure, he hadn't been completely honest about why he'd sprung Chidori on the girl, but what he'd said wasn't _terribly_ off. He avoided the truth only because…well.

Because his real reason was petty and childish. Because his real reason was something that one might expect from Naruto. Because his real reason was that his temper got the best of him.

That was it. But he took enough shit from his higher-ups as it was, and mood swings would only serve to worsen things. And so he lied.

Sort of.

Suddenly, Kabuto's face loomed in front of his. Startled, the previously stony-faced boy stumbled backwards, unfortunately tripping over nothing. The silver-haired medic nin didn't laugh, but Sasuke could see that he wanted to and was sure that he would later, most likely at some bothersome time, like when Sasuke was trying to sleep on that cement block of his (falsely labeled as a mattress).

"Really. I wish you'd tell us what's going on, Sasuke-kun. You are obviously very disturbed by something. It might help to get it off your chest. You know I'm here anytime you want to talk, right?"

Sasuke, having had as much of this as he could take for the moment (and still keep it together), got to his feet slowly and stalked from the room. Orochimaru shook his head amusedly.

"Such a delightful attitude."

"Yes. But we didn't manage to work out any plans. Also, his instability is really starting to worry me."

"Oh, don't be fretting over that rage of his. Sasuke is still a teenager, after all. And the retrieval procedure is _still_ simple enough. I know that Tsunade will have Sakura under guard. Whether the girl is still in Konoha or not is questionable, but I'm sure our spies are more than capable of finding out where she is. Once we know her location and how much of a guard she has, we can go about setting a date and finalizing our actions. Until then, there isn't very much we can do, but this also means that what we will end up doing will go very smoothly."

"Indeed."

**With Sasuke: **"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! I fucking hate him!"

The furious boy paced back and forth feverishly, occasionally punching a wall. He needed to get out of this place. It was too much. He was going to go absolutely ape-shit if he didn't have a change of scenery RIGHT NOW.

Or maybe he'd just murder Kabuto. That would solve all of his problems right there.

…_Most of them, anyway. _

He hated looking like a child in front of Orochimaru. Admittedly, he wasn't exactly all about impressing the Snake Sannin these days, but it made him feel like a real idiot inside anyway. He was his own worst critic and, to him, acting five again wasn't any way for an Uchiha to behave.

Of course _Kabuto_ knew all of this. Kabuto knew Sasuke's character down to the last habit. Kabuto probably had a mind-reading machine that he used on Sasuke while he was asleep, since he seemed to know a great deal of other things he shouldn't about the raven-haired boy.

_And he just has to go and exploit this power… He knows why I lie and does everything he can to make me choke on it. Every fucking time! It never changes! No one takes me seriously._

A small cough from the doorway interrupted his raging thoughts. Sasuke gripped his forehead viciously to prevent his hands from detaching themselves and flying over his shoulders to go choke Kabuto to death.

It wasn't like he disapproved of their ideas, just that he thought Kabuto deserved something more than suffocation; lots of blood was good, and perhaps some guts on the wall or something… yes, it was a definite possibility.

"You fell completely ass-backwards just to get away from me? I feel proud."

Sasuke whirled, spitting. "As if you didn't know exactly what you were doing! Honestly, if you weren't such a dick _all the time_, we could potentially get along. But do you ever deviate from your path of dickness? Noooooo…" He waved his hands around dramatically, eyes fierce and daring Kabuto to talk back.

Which he did, of course.

"I agree. If you weren't such a hormonal drama queen who can't keep a hold of his temper, I see no reason why we wouldn't be able to be friends."

"Shut up! Goddamn you!"

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose in a leisurely fashion. "God actually likes me quite a bit. You, on the other hand…"

Sasuke lunged at the silver-haired man, who cleverly sidestepped, sending Sasuke headfirst into the door.

"Fuck! That door was open a second ago!"

Kabuto picked Sasuke up by his collar and shoved him against the wall. "Yes, it was. I closed it. But let that be a lesson to you, eh, Sasuke-_kun_? Doors aren't always open for you, am I right?" His eyes turned cold and serious, voice dropping an octave and sounding like imminent torture.

"Orochimaru isn't going to abide with your shit much longer. Might I remind you that your only real purpose among us is to gain strength and become Orochimaru's next body? You aren't the golden boy you think you are, and this permanent PMS act isn't winning you any medals. So think about that the next time you decide to be immature and stupid, lest you be locked up until it is time."

He let go slowly. Sasuke didn't move from his position. The medic's eyes were still on him, but slightly less menacing.

"Orochimaru-sama is sending spies out to trace Sakura. Once we pin her down, we'll make a plan and execute it. It's as simple as that."

With this ambiguous information, Kabuto left. Sasuke sneered at nothing in particular.

_Simple… Yeah, right. _

--------------------------------------------

Sakura ended up borrowing some books from Gaara after a couple of days. She hadn't allowed herself much exploration on account of her first foray into Gaara's room (which wouldn't have been a problem had she not been caught). He hadn't seemed to mind, but Sakura couldn't quite guess his grayscale emotions just yet and didn't know this. So she had been sitting in her room mending a mesh cuff she'd ripped a few weeks back.

It was a boring and painful task to weave mesh. Sakura tended to avoid it at all costs, but as she had all this extra time and a bit of embarrassment to kill, it had sounded like a fine plan.

After the first three hours, Sakura wanted to die. Her back was killing her from hunching over, her fingers ached in the various spots she'd stabbed herself with the needle, and she was so damn BORED… Then it was dinnertime.

She'd swallowed her pride and fairly begged Gaara to lend her some reading material. He'd said yes without any discernible hesitation.

That was three days ago.

Currently, she was positioned on the window seat in her room, the third of many gorgeous examples of literature resting on her leg.

_This life is unbelievably easy._

With a small sigh of contentment, her eyes returned to the page and resumed reading until the sun went down. She was too lazy to get up and turn on a light, so she gave up on the book and just sat staring out the window. The desert stars were very beautiful.

Their serene song was interrupted by a knocking on the door, the knocker being Gaara.

"We've been calling you down to dinner for the past ten minutes. Are you not hungry or something?"

Sakura smiled in the dimness. "No, this book is just really good. Also, the night sky was so enticing that I just couldn't bring myself to move."

"I'm glad you like it here."

Sakura peered forward. Gaara was only a person-shaped blob in the doorway, so she couldn't tell if he had any expression on his face at all. But his voice, for a moment, had sounded eerily… human.

_The changes are small, but they're there. _

Sakura smiled to herself again. "I think I will come down, actually. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty hungry."

Gaara let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I'm about to die down there. Temari brought her boyfriend over to eat with us and I'm this close to stabbing his eyes out with my spoon."

----------------------------------

"What's up? I'm Sakuro, nice to meetcha." Temari's boyfriend stood up to shake Sakura's hand.

"…You're seriously named Sakuro?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I'm Sakura."

Sakuro raised an eyebrow and grinned playfully. "That's bizarre, man. Seriously bizarre. Maybe it's a sign, am I right?"

Sakura would have asked what kind of sign he was referring to, but Temari fluttered in from the kitchen with a pitcher of tea and he sat right back down. The girl caught Sakura's eye and winked, a light blush tinting her cheeks.

Sakura looked Sakuro over in the most nonchalant way possible. He was a good-looking boy with sandy blonde hair (ha) and sharp grey eyes, and she could see right off what Temari was talking about- he was a natural bad boy. Maybe it was the way he was sitting, or perhaps the precise angle of his flopped bangs, but he gave off a definite air of something not quite dangerous but not quite safe.

Temari looked ecstatic. "So you two have met. Great!" She looked around the table, completely ignoring Gaara's stiff glare. "But where'd Kankuro run off to? He was here just a few minutes ago."

"Right here." The third of the sand siblings wandered in, ruffling his hair. Sakura smiled at him and he returned the gesture. They too had been on a few missions together, but not quite so many as she and Temari had. Still, it was enough for her to know him; they were buds.

"Lovely! Now we can eat like the little family unit we are."

Kankuro looked around. "Pretty dysfunctional family, wouldn't you say?"

Temari glared. "Not really. But sit down, brother dear, so that we may actually eat."

It was then that Sakura noticed that none of the platters of food had been touched. They had been waiting for her.

"Um, you all didn't have to wait for me to eat, you know."

"Nonsense! It's only polite to wait for the ladies to be present and serve themselves before the men partake of the grub." Sakuro grinned at her across the table. There was something off about this, but Sakura couldn't quite put her finger on it. Brushing off the odd feeling, she began to fill her plate, flushing slightly; everyone was watching her. Luckily, when she was done, the sand brothers went into a feeding frenzy and began slopping food on their plates in record time. Temari yelled at them to no avail; she was, after all, another one of the ladies and had not yet been served.

Still, Sakura was very grateful. She didn't like being the center of attention, and again, there was something off in the attention she was getting from Sakuro. Every time she met his gaze, he would smile at her in a way that dropped off the edge of friendly into creepy, suffice to say, he unsettled her extremely.

Gaara caught on to this after a small while. Initially, he only noticed openings in the boy's demeanor that would allow for a quick and simple death… you know, nothing too messy, nothing a well-placed senbon couldn't handle. Soon enough, however, he realized where Sakuro's sly eyes were landing every time he looked up.

_Sakura. That bastard is checking Sakura out every chance he gets! And with Temari right there! Oh, I'll kill him. _

_**The question is will you be killing him on Sakura's behalf or your sister's?**_

_That's an idiotic question! For my sister, of course! _

…

_Well, and I suppose indirectly for Sakura, but only because I wouldn't be surprised if _he_ tried to kidnap her too. The way he's looking at her… That boy has some nasty plans brewing. _

_**Well, look at you. What a sweetie.**_

**You're great at this denial thing, kid. Seriously. **

_Shut up! I'm not denying anything._

**Oh, sorry. You're great at this refusing to own up to what's going on thing. Better?**

_Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Why can't you just leave me alone when I'm plotting?_

**_We like some quality plotting too, don't forget. You think we'd miss out on purpose just out of respect for _you**

_I didn't think so, but I'd like it if you did. _

**Fat chance. It's way too boring in your body for you to even try and deny us a bit of fun every once in a while. **

----------------------------------------

Kankuro, taking a small break, examined his fellow diners. Temari was talking with her mouth full (still politely somehow) about something funny that had happened that day. Sakuro wasn't paying attention at all (understandably; from what Kankuro heard, it wasn't a very entertaining story). What Kankuro didn't understand was why instead of listening to his girlfriend, he was watching Sakura very closely. Said girl was keeping her eyes on her plate and eating quietly. Kankuro felt a surge of protectiveness well up.

Then he saw Gaara.

His eyes reminded Kankuro of the Demonic years. They were locked onto Sakuro. This was bad. Even though he wished the same fate on the asshole, it wouldn't be good for any kind of kick in the pants to be dealt at the dinner table.

"Hey Gaara! Let's talk brother-to-brother for a minute, yeah?"

-----------------------------------------------

Longest chapter yet FTW.


	17. Creeps and Confusion

This chapter feels like the F-word (filler), but it refused to come out properly. I think I need to pistol-whip this fic back into submission, hm? Anyway, sorry about the long wait and the lack of content. Also, thanks to all the people who still leave me reviews even though I suck at delivering on any sort of regular basis. What can I say? I'm an expert at procrastination.

I WILL OWN YOU, FIC. SUBMIT.

-------------------------------------------

Creeps and Confusion

Gaara couldn't unfreeze his face. It seemed permanently stuck in a ferocious glare. He felt bad about turning this on his brother, but upon meeting an identical glare in Kankuro's eyes, he decided not to care.

Kankuro had dragged him out into the entry hall, where he began to pace. "What the fuck is that guy doing?" He kicked at a wall. Gaara stood there, trying to come up with some sort of plan.

"I'm so sick of him. If I weren't inclined to respect Temari's business and leave her to deal with it, I'd say drag him out into the street and let him have it. I'm positive he's cheating on her already, and who knows what he's got in mind for poor Sakura… Bastards like that should be castrated. Maybe we could castrate him? I like the sound of that." Kankuro plopped down on the bottom step, casting a glance in Gaara's direction. Why wasn't the boy talking? Surely he felt the same way and at least agreed with his older brother's idea. "Well? Are any neurons firing in that confusing cranium of yours? Speak."

Gaara was still thinking. They needed to approach this situation with some tact, for Temari's sake. "Do you think that Sakura might help us?" He muttered slowly.

Kankuro thought about this. "How so?"

"Well, she's a girl, which would automatically soften the blow, wouldn't it?" Kankuro gave a nod. Encouraged, Gaara continued. "Also, she and Temari are friends, so if we explain what's going on, she'd be more than happy to split them up. Girls back each other up like that, don't they?"

_Even if they don't, I'm pretty sure she'd be happy enough just to eliminate him from the vicinity, point blank._

Kankuro nodded. "Yeah! And with her doing the splitting, Temari can't just blame it on us being overprotective! Let's do it!" He thought for a moment longer, then shook his head. "I'll just have to think on my feet for the time being. Something will come to me. You just chill, okay?"

Suddenly, Gaara found himself dragged back into the dining room. He reminded himself to stay calm, and so didn't look at either Sakura or Sakuro when he sat down. He still felt an intense urge to go jab his fork into some sensitive part of Sakuro's body, but if he wasn't looking at him, the feeling subsided slightly.

----------------------------------------------

Dinner was over soon after. Temari ran upstairs after whispering something in her boyfriend's ear. She winked at Sakura as she made her way past.

"Don't forget to clean up, boys!" Her voice echoed mockingly in the hall.

Sakura looked around the table under the guise of piling utensils on her plate. An odd scene presented itself to her.

Gaara was keeping his eyes resolutely down. He wasn't even blinking.

_Not like he does that much anyway, though…_

Kankuro was staring fiercely at a harmless vase of flowers.

…_Still, what's with them?_

Sakuro was watching both boys inquisitively. Then he glanced at her and licked his lips playfully, giving a slow wink. Sakura cringed.

_Gads! I'd forgotten about him. It's amazing what good food can do to a girl…_

She refocused on him. He was staring at her still, but more at her chest than at her face.

…_And from the way he's looking at me, it appears that he's in agreement. Ugh. _

Unnerved, Sakura filled her hands with dishes and headed for the kitchen.

-----------------------------------

Hearing the swinging door, Kankuro decided to start the plan he had just made up. "I think I'll help Sakura clear the table. Looks like you two are off the… hook?"

Something was wrong. Namely, the fact that Sakura wasn't the only one up from the table. Kankuro gulped.

Okay, it was a possibility that Sakuro had done the right thing and already followed his girlfriend upstairs. But he really wasn't the type to do the right thing. Ever.

_Shit._

Kankuro grabbed a couple of plates and fairly dashed to the kitchen, nearly knocking over a maid in the process.

"Goodness, but what's gotten into them?" She muttered, surveying the almost-cleared table. "It's not like them to help with cleaning, and I should know…"

Sakura fought off a shiver as she entered the safety of the kitchen. Temari's boyfriend was such a creep.

Suddenly, she remembered that Gaara had a troupe of housekeepers at his service and wondered why she'd bothered to heed Temari's parting words.

_Wasn't her first advice not to listen to my elders? Ah well. It makes me feel better about having people take care of me. I have to give something back, right?_

She set down what she had in her arms and turned to go back for a second pass only to come face to face with Sakuro.

_Wasn't he just sitting at the table?_

"Uh, no dishes?" _Just ignore that weird smile on his face and go around him. Ignore and go around. _It's what she wanted to do, but she found herself frozen. His smile reminded her of Sasuke.

"I'm sure the boys will be more than happy to take care of things." Sakuro sidled towards her, eyes tracing continuously up and down her body, locking with her own after every sweep. "We still haven't gotten to know each other properly yet."

At this, an indignant fire erupted in Sakura's breast. What an asshole! No matter how much Temari built him up, there was no getting around the fact that he had now officially crossed the line. Mental undressing was a slightly disturbing concept, but it was tolerable. When things headed towards a more physical road, however… that's when it got dangerous.

_He was still only _okay_ when he wasn't openly hitting on me… or is he trying to seduce me? Bah. It's all technical. But I can't let him think he can carry on like this and not receive some sort of retaliation. _

She drew herself up imperiously, letting a fearsome frown bloom on her face. She tried to radiate the hostility she felt, hoping he might back off. She didn't really want to have to resort to violence, if only for Temari's sake, because despite obvious evidence that this guy was no better than pond scum, the blonde remained devoted to him.

_Girls are seriously stupid when it comes to love. _

She showed a few teeth for extra oomph and Sakuro (to his credit) took the hint. "Ah, the hackles have come up." He stopped moving and shrugged, laughing quietly. "It was worth a shot, though."

Sakura was disgusted. _How did Temari even start _dating_ this guy?_

Abruptly, Temari's questionable choice was hidden from her view by a wall of black.

_That would be Kankuro's back, then?_

She was correct.

"So, Sakuro… uh, just… just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Kankuro's eyebrows rose as he feigned confusion. Sakuro smirked at him, barely ruffled, and glided past to the fridge.

"Nothing much. Just came in to grab some whipped cream. Ten points if you can guess what for." He plucked out a can and lewdly licked one side of it, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. After giving his audience a moment to digest this, he took his leave.

Kankuro growled low in his throat. "God, how I hate that man."

"I couldn't agree more." Sakura stepped up beside him, making a face. Then she smacked the boy's shoulder. "You're her brother, step up and do something!"

"Actually, I plan to do just that. And by I, I mean you."

"What?"

Kankuro sighed. "Don't you females talk about relationships all the time, whether or not you're in one? And thus, aren't you all automatically inclined to help each other if one of you is in a bad relationship?"

"Getting a bit stereotypical there, aren't we, Kuro my dear? Don't you know me at all?"

"Hmm. I suppose you have a point or two. Anyway, _my_ point is that Gaara and I both think it would be more effective if _you_ talked Temari into kicking this guy to the curb. That way, _we_ wouldn't look like we were just being overprotective asses and _everyone_ gets rid of the dickwad."

It sounded reasonable enough. Sakura nodded. "You make a good argument. But I'll have to do that later. I think they're kind of busy at the moment."

Kankuro winced. "Yeah…"

------------------------------------------------

The maid officially took her job back, leaving Sakura with the attractive option of returning to her room and resuming her reading. By now, her bed would be turned down, the lamps would be lit, and a steaming pot of tea would be waiting on her bedside table…

Sakura wasn't one to need special treatment, but she couldn't deny her enjoyment of the servants of the house.

So she trooped upstairs, fully intent on reading till three in the morning and maybe sneaking downstairs for more tea if she couldn't sleep (if the book got that much better, that is).

"Hey." Gaara was coming up the stairs behind her. Sakura waited patiently for him on the second floor landing. He looked like he had something on his mind. His eyes never left the stairs, seemingly to avoid meeting her own.

_Hmm… _

"What's up? Kankuro already talked to me about the whole break up thing, so no worries." The girl grinned. "I'll take care of it."

Gaara looked up at her briefly before looking down again, this time at his hands. Sakura looked too. They weren't doing anything particularly interesting, so she took to staring at his hair. It looked very soft, like goose down. She was contemplating touching it when he spoke.

"I wasn't worried about Temari. I mean, you're a good friend to her and you'll take fine care of her. I just wanted to tell you… er, I mean…" he fumbled spectacularly and lifted his head just enough for Sakura to see the color in his cheeks. She stared. Did Gaara feel… awkward? To make it a bit easier on him (whatever his reason was), she moved towards the next flight of stairs, pretending that she hadn't just seen one of the most powerful shinobi ever blushing.

Gaara followed, getting his words out slowly. "I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go to the oasis with me."

Sakura froze.

"Uh, that is, if you don't want to go, it's fine. I mean, Temari just said something about you and taking you to the oasis and since you don't live here normally, and you normally live in a green place, the oasis sounds right up your alley…?" Gaara cursed his tongue, which had chosen that exact moment to become a contortionist.

As his unruly organ attempted once more to tango its way out of his submission, Sakura laughed. The boy looked up for a moment, then breathed with relief.

_It's only a laugh. A regular, well-meaning laugh. _

_**Of course it's only a laugh. What'd you think it was, a turtle?**_

**Oh, leave the kid alone. He can't help it if he's a nervous wreck around the girl he has a SUPER SECRET SPECIAL AWESOME CRUSH on. **

_**True, I suppose. I can't really disagree with you, as much as I want to. **_

_Would you two stop talking about me like I don't exist?_

_**No**. _

**What are you talking about, kid? You _don't_ exist. You're a figment of your own imagination.**

Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been a while since they'd teamed up on him.They must be seriously bored.

_I wish _you_ were figments of my imagination._

Shukaku chortled darkly**Don't you just?**

_**Ah, he's lying. You know you would be lost if we weren't around. **_

_I doubt that. I might just be better off, in fact. _

…**He actually has a point. We're pretty much retarded.**

_**Speak for yourself. **_

**Oh, right. I forgot. I'm not allowed to speak for you, am I?**

_**Damn straight. **_

Gaara felt the familiar urge to punch himself in the head as the volume increased._ Come on, guys…_

"I would love to go to the oasis with you."

**Shut your face. You aren't even _half_ as… what?**

Startled into silence, the two voices faded back into the blackness from whence they came. Gaara looked up, headache departing immediately. "What?"

Sakura just smiled. "I'd love to go. It sounds like a really neat place. Also, to be honest, I am kinda starting to miss greenery…" She grinned wider, fiddling sheepishly with a lock of hair. "So anytime you're ready, let's go."

"Anytime… I'm ready?" Gaara was still a bit confused. He hadn't meant to say it like that. He had intended to phrase the question more in the way a big brother might to a little sister, as in did she want him to take her to the oasis to play sometime? It came out sounding more like he was asking her out on a date.

And yet she still accepted without any hint of indecision. Of course, what struck him as strangest was the fact that she was asking what time was convenient for _him_.

_Aren't the girls the ones who dictate this sort of thing? I was the one that asked, after all. _

His conscience popped up briefly. **_You shouldn't complain. You've got work to do, you know. The Kazekage can't just skip off for a day in the park whenever he chooses. This girl is smart enough to know that, which is a good thing if you two are going to get serious._**

_Please please PLEASE, could you just once leave me alone when I'm talking to someone?_

Sakura held back a giggle at Gaara's intensely puzzled face, which also held a trace of malice. "How about you just pick me up when you've got time, hm? It's not like I've got a busy schedule or anything. You, on the other hand, have a lot to do."

Gaara came back to himself. "Yeah…"

"So anytime is fine!" With another smile, she started up the stairs again.

_I gotta say, though… I sure hope it's soon. As big as this house is, and as much as I'm enjoying this trip, I'm feeling the cabin fever. Yeesh. _

Gaara stood there stupidly for a moment more, then followed her up.


	18. Freedom

Whee concert that kept me up too late on some times ago (Silversun Pickups, Ok Go, and Snow Patrol FTW)! It was a bit back, but it was so damn awesome I can't shut up about it.

Anyway, this chapter took forever because a) I was working on other fic in my agonizingly slow manner, b) there was much homework, most of which is late still, and c) there was actual content to be put in this chapter. As I was unused to such a task, it took me a bit longer than I anticipated. I need to get over that. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but here it is. It moves things along.

-----------------------------------

Freedom

Sakura woke up feeling quite strange. A huge weight was pressing down on her face in the most uncomfortable way. It was also obscuring her vision. She shook her head from side to side in an attempt to dislodge the annoyance, but it refused to budge.

_Wait a minute…_

That's when she remembered falling asleep while reading, and in the middle of a poignant fight scene too. She flicked on her lamp and finished reading it.

"You awake yet?" Kankuro's muffled voice sounded from the other side of her door. Sakura looked up in surprise; she'd thought he had a job, since she'd never noticed him around the house this early before.

"I'm up, I'm up!" She trilled, rolling out of bed and pulling the curtains open. It was another beautiful day.

Kankuro coughed quietly and knocked once more. Sakura stared at the thick paneling of her door, wondering what he was doing.

"You know that the round metal thing on the big wooden thing opens the big wooden thing up, right?" she called, striding across the room and demonstrating her technique. Kankuro glowered at her slightly.

"I didn't know if you were decent and felt like being polite. I beg your pardon for not barging right in."

"Well, what a gentleman you are! Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you had something going on in town every day like your siblings."

He shook his head. "Nah. Nothing official, anyway. I'm a ninja and that's enough for the Kazekage's brother. I do like working in this one toyshop though, on off days. It keeps me busy."

"Well, what are you still sitting around here for?"

"It is my official duty to take you out on the town today."

"As in, 'Hello, my name is Kankuro and I'll be your tour guide'?" Sakura smirked.

"No, as in, 'You wear this wig and these contacts and we'll see about _maybe_ running briefly through the market'."

Sakura's face fell 15 stories. "What?! You're kidding! If I have to disguise myself, at least keep me out all day! I'm going crazy in here!"

"Yeah, we all know. And don't worry, I was kidding about the brief errand bit. You do have to wear this stuff, though." He hefted a black bag.

"What for? It's easier to just transform, isn't it?"

"Only if you can hold it all day while also concealing your chakra." Kankuro grinned at the irritation in her eyes. "Sasuke would be able to recognize your chakra signature easily enough, you know. And it wouldn't be good if you lost control and turned back into yourself either, whether or not there are spies sniffing around for you."

Sakura huffed at him, crossing her arms. "You don't seem to be too confident in my abilities."

Kankuro held up his hands. "Hey, I have perfect faith in you, but I don't make the rules. It's your Hokage who thought this would be the best way to hide you in public. Besides, with costuming, you only have to focus on hiding your chakra. Makes it a lot easier to enjoy your outing."

"…Yeah, I guess." Sakura grabbed the bag. Kankuro smiled.

"'Atta girl. Get dressed and meet me downstairs, alright?"

Sakura nodded and closed her door. She suddenly felt a bit excited (beyond that excitement she felt to be getting out into the world again). After all, it had been a while since she'd played dress-up.

She threw the bag onto her bed and began to sort through it. Out of a miasma of different accessories, she picked out a plain brown wig, a pair of purple contacts, and a humongous necklace that was almost as long as she was. After putting on unremarkable civilian clothing (not without a few tricks up her sleeve, mind you), she began her first attempt at putting in contacts.

This experience was concluded with tears, two contacts still out of the eyes they were supposed to be in, and much muttering of "Fuck! I'm gonna go blind… Ow! Ow! Oh God, I think I just poked a hole in my eye… What is that? Is that blood? I don't know, I can't fucking see, OW."

Such frustration over such small things…

Sakura started, eyes no longer seeing what was in the mirror._ What? Oh… Hey there, Kura. Um, yeah, I just don't know how to put in contacts. _

Obviously. Inner Sakura chuckled quietly. You make me smile, though.

She began to fade out again.

_Hey! Um, hang in there, alright? _

There was no response, only a copy of herself in the mirror chewing fiercely on its bottom lip.

Sakura sighed softly, beginning her second battle with contacts. This time, there was just as much cursing, but fewer tears, and one contact was in place at the end.

Finally, both of her eyes violently violet, she grabbed the wig and wrestled it onto her head, holding it down with bobby pins. Once it was stuck, she smiled in relief.

_That didn't hurt at all. And at least _it_ cooperated the first time around. _

Looking at her new reflection, she felt younger. The fake hair, which was quite long, was taking her back to the time when her hair reached far down her back naturally. She swayed back and forth a few times, enjoying the protective weight of it.

_Life was so innocent back then. Or so I thought…_

She shook herself. Memories sucked sometimes. Suddenly, she stepped right up to the mirror, staring her new self down.

_But it doesn't matter. I'm not Sakura today. That memory is meaningless._

The necklace ended up being looped a couple of times around her waist. She knotted a small purse to the hanging end, pulled on her shoes, and headed out the door.

--------------------------------------

Kankuro was lounging at the very bottom of the stairs, fiddling with a tiny ball and socket joint. He looked up as she approached. "Well, hello there, Miss… I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

Sakura thought for a moment. "Uh, Miss… Hanako."

"All right. Also, Temari left you this for our excursion, to further disguise you." She was handed a small case. Opening it, she found two silicone cups. It took her a moment to figure out what she was looking at.

"…You're kidding, right?"

Kankuro was trying very hard not to burst out laughing. "It would change your appearance, wouldn't it? I mean, if anyone's looking for you, they're going to be looking for a pink-haired, green-eyed, _flat-chested_ woman, right?"

He very narrowly avoided being turned into one large bruise at the temporary entrance of a maid onto the scene. As the woman made her quiet way across the entry hall, Kankuro stood up and walked over to the front door, distancing himself from the furious kunoichi still static on the stairs, breast bolsters in one hand, the other clenched in a chakra-infused fist.

"Um, insert them and we'll go?" His stomach protested furiously from keeping all that laughter in. He was relieved, however, when she stomped off in the general vicinity of the bathroom.

When Sakura returned, Kankuro was lying on the floor, breathing hard.

"Your paint is smeared" she snipped at him, yanking open the front door and stalking out. She was walking strangely, though, which was understandable; she wasn't yet used to the new jiggle she'd added to the lineup.

Kankuro, who had just got his feet back under him, fell over laughing again.

-----------------------------------------

"Will you stop being angry if I buy you ice cream?"

Sakura examined the stand not but a few yards away from where they were, face still set deep in a vicious glare.

_He's such an ass. But wow, that looks good. _

"Oh, come on, please? Haven't I apologized enough? And you've known me for a while now, what's teasing between friends, huh?" Kankuro pleaded for what he considered to be the hundredth time that day. He hadn't thought she was _that_ sensitive about her petite bust.

She ignored his pleas, but approached the stand nonetheless. "I might stop snapping at you so much if you get me ice cream, but I can't guarantee a full pardon." She thought for a moment. "I might get over it if you take me to the oasis, though."

It hadn't been a big factor until last night. Gaara had put thoughts of it into her head once more, and she suddenly found herself hungering for the delights it had to offer. But Kankuro shook his head at her.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He looked away, above the rooftops surrounding them. "That's Gaara's job."

Sakura followed Kankuro's gaze and noticed that he was looking at the Kazekage's dome of sand. Upon receiving her cone, she examined the huge ball further, lapping at her scoop of chocolate pensively.

She almost didn't see the tiny figure standing on top of the building. The elaborate robes the figure was draped in blew about haphazardly, as did the crop of red hair, a mere speck of color on the horizon.

"Hey Kankuro…"

Said man looked up from paying the ice cream vendor. "Yeah?"

"Did Gaara really want to be Kazekage?"

--------------------------------------

"I'll tell you as much as I know, I guess." Kankuro sat back on a shaded bench, waiting for Sakura to sit before speaking again.

"Our father was Kazekage once, did you know? He's the one that snake bastard killed and impersonated during the chuunin exams all those years ago… None of us were all that bothered about it, heartless as it seems, but it wasn't like he was a good dad to any of us, least of all Gaara." The man looked at his hands sadly. "We were pretty crappy as siblings also, though, me and Temari. We avoided that boy like the plague, but we didn't want to die young, so it was the only way."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I think Naruto knocked some of the puzzle pieces back into place when he beat Gaara up because, after that fight, he began to change. He apologized for his previous behavior and tried his best to assimilate. People began to trust him for the first time once they saw how different his personality was. He was only put in charge because of legacy, though. I mean, it wasn't like he could be judged on his leading capability, since all of the other things he'd done for our government had involved mainly the Shukaku beast and not Gaara as a person. He was a tool."

Sakura swallowed. "That's awful."

"Yeah. And because of this, it was rough in the beginning. Gaara was still changing, forcing himself to grow out of the shell he'd been born into, but many of the leaders thought his position was bogus and so refused to listen to him when he chose to speak up, which was rare. They're an intimidating bunch, and confidence was one of the qualities Gaara was still in the process of formulating. Deals were constantly talked about and agreed upon over his head, when he was sitting right there, and none of them even batted an eyelash. It was incredibly disrespectful and downright annoying, as you might imagine. But that's when the Akatsuki appeared on the radar…"

Sakura remembered this part herself; she had helped in the killing of Puppet Master Sasori, after all. Sakura had fought him with his grandmother Chiyo, while Naruto and Kakashi-sensei had chased after the blonde one, Deedee or something obnoxious like that, who had had Gaara's corpse in his clutches.

"You know how _that_ turned out… But anyway, after he realized how many of the townspeople really did trust him and appreciated the fact that he was their Kazekage, he steeled up and routed the system. He made damn sure that he was no longer in the background, and fired any unfaithful he came across, replacing them with fresh blood that really cared about the place they called home."

With a satisfying stretch, Kankuro continued. "I'm not sure if he enjoys what he does, per se, but he does it day in and day out without complaint. _Well_. He loves this village and wants to take good care of it. Really, he's just like that Naruto kid, only quiet."

Sakura chuckled. "That's for sure. I really kind of miss him, you know? After being around that kind of crazy energy for so long, it's hard to be without it." She smiled a little. "I do see similarities between him and Gaara, though. It's a small comfort."

Kankuro patted her on the shoulder. "I'm glad. Anyway, what say you to getting back home? It's getting kinda late."

"…Yeah, okay."


	19. Something Completely Different

Alrighty then. I have added on somewhat. I really suck with even marginally meeting my own deadlines. Thousand pardons.

---------------------------

And Now For Something Completely Different

When Gaara walked in, he was greeted with the sight of Sakura sitting on the steps, a slight purse to her lips. Luckily, Gaara had become accustomed to Girl Moods by this point, and one of them favored the dramatic quite a bit. Pouting rarely amounted to anything serious.

Wait… she was actually _sad_ about something. Huh.

"Uh… what's wrong?"

Sakura looked up, slightly dazed, and shook her head.

…_Okay. This is new. _

Gaara chewed on his upper lip, watching her for a moment. She was looking his direction, but didn't seem to see him. _What is this?_

"Sakura?" Okay, she twitched. Not much, but any sort of response is good, right? "Can you understand me? Are you connecting at all to the words coming out of my mouth?"

Her eyes remained as glazed as ever. Gaara heaved an abnormally dreary sigh. Work had been a bitch that day, not counting the new advisor he had been randomly allotted who couldn't seem to get far enough into Gaara's personal business…

_You'd think he'd have work to do given the current state of affairs, but no, my home life is at the top of his list. All the damn rebels will just have to wait until he's had a chat with me; it's not like they're running around destroying border villages or anything. _

He opted for letting Sakura work this out alone, unless she searched him out for help. He had no idea what was going on and she was obviously not in a giving mood.

"Um, I'll be in the kitchen, okay?"

She only nodded. Gaara frankly skedaddled. She was freaking him out. Upon entering the kitchen, however, he found a more skittish female.

"Ugh, was today not the weirdest day ever? First, I wake up to find my boyfriend sleeping beside me. Then—"

"Isn't it normal for your boyfriend to be found sleeping next to you in the morning?" Gaara interrupted, rummaging in the pantry for a snack.

Temari made a face. "Well, I guess it would be, but Sakuro isn't that kind of guy. He usually cuts out around 5:00 AM or so. But anyway, there he was, all snuggled up and snoring. Snoring, I didn't know he snored. I've never actually seen him sleep. And then he was even all smiley and happy to see me when he woke up, it was so weird. He's never that affectionate in the morning. But anyway, then I go to check on Kankuro at his shop, you know? He's been bothering me about doing his books for him for about a month now, so I figured 'hey, I got nothing better to do, why not math?', but I get there and it's all closed up. So I come back home, give myself a pedicure out of sheer boredom, and then hear the front door open. I go downstairs and see Sakura, but she's completely not herself and she won't even talk to me. Kankuro told me that she was fine all day, because it turns out he was showing her around town, but that dramatic of a mood doesn't just randomly hit. And I can't tell what's wrong because she simply won't talk!"

Gaara stared. Had she breathed once during that whole tirade?

"So let me get this straight… you own nail polish?"

"AGH! Why is it you only catch the little details? Something is up with my boyfriend and something is wrong with Sakura!"

Gaara nodded. "And? What should I do? She didn't talk to me either. Maybe we should have Kankuro try. It's his turn, right? Oh, and no comment on that boyfriend of yours."

Temari let out a frustrated sigh. Gaara wisely picked up the sandwich he had managed to make while she was talking and exited. He exited towards the front stairs, though, and was confronted once more with Sakura's unseeing eyes.

"I'm going upstairs now, okay? I'll be in my room if you need anything."

She barely moved, so Gaara tiptoed around her and forced himself to keep walking. He had an urge to shake her, scream at her, to do something that might make her jump or regain consciousness. She may have looked awake, but obviously a crucial part of her brain was switched off.

Still, the logical bit of his brain noted that such action would be rude, especially to a girl. Surely Temari would get sick of pacing and return to try again. Maybe Sakura would be ready to rejoin the world then. And if not, any such violence would be on his sister's head and not his.

Two hours after he'd finished his snack, Gaara made his way back downstairs with his plate. She was still there, exactly where he'd left her. For some reason, this antagonized him.

His hand clenched abruptly, and he found himself dropping the plate and running down the remaining steps to where she sat. Her head began rotating his direction slowly, but Gaara's patience was spent.

**Good. Mine too. If you hadn't taken action just now, I would've taken over and—**

_**Oh, stop trying to steal his thunder. Really. Like you care.**_

**Hey, this is the girl who's going to fix our boy up into a man. We gotta help throw some sparks out there, don't we?**

_Shut. UP. _

Amazingly, both voices listened, so Gaara's head was clear and quiet as he violently grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and shook her back and forth.

"SNAP OUT OF IT! SAKURA! EARTH TO SAKURA!" Her head lolled around like a rag doll's. Gaara clapped his hands to her cheeks, got right in her face, and shouted at her. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WAKE UP ALREADY!"

"What the hell is going on out here?!" Temari rushed out of the kitchen and gaped. "Wh… Gaara, what the hell are you doing to her?!"

Gaara's head snapped around, his eyes wild. He didn't know what this feeling was, the feeling that had spurred him on, but it was making his hair stand on end and he liked it. He did, however, know that it had something to do with Sakura, because he hadn't felt this way until he was once again faced with her lifelessness.

"What does it LOOK like I'm doing, Temari? I'm WAKING HER UP!" His voice felt so loose, and it jumped so easily from his throat at terrific volumes… whatever this was, it was awesome! All the stress he'd accumulated from work was being compressed and used to fuel this strange fire he felt.

He liked it. He liked it a lot.

"Hm? Gaara?"

His head swerved back only to be rewarded with the sight of surprise on Sakura's face, the face he still gripped rather tightly…

"Ah! Um, oops. Sorry." He moved his hands to the safety of his pockets. Temari was glaring at him fiercely. Sakura, however, didn't seem to have been affected much at all. In fact, _she_ seemed sorry.

"Wow, I'm just trouble. I really don't know what hit me. I just walked through the door and all of this sadness drenched me and… it was the weirdest thing. All I could think about was you." She glanced at Gaara, almost in wonderment, before realizing what she'd said. Gaara almost thought he'd heard wrong, but leave it up to his sister to always make sure the details are clear.

"My brother? You couldn't stop thinking about Gaara? Well, whatever made you think about _him_? He isn't so great."

Gaara rolled his eyes. _Gee, thanks._

"I said it was weird, didn't I?" Sakura looked at the ground. Gaara thought he maybe detected a hint of blush on her cheeks, but it could have been his imagination. Or maybe just the imprints of his hand.

"Not any weirder than my brother."

Gaara glanced up slightly, glaring at his sister from under his floppy bangs. "Oh sure, let's all fuss at me. I helped her out, so leave me alone. Besides, being the Kazekage sucked today. Can I help it if the sight of her just sitting there was bothersome? Geez." And with this, he retreated back up the stairs. Temari was looking like she wanted to smack him.

**She should've used that on Sakura, huh?**

_**Oh, shut up. Girls don't do things like that. **_

**This is true. They prefer hugging and crying and chocolate.**

_**Way to be stereotypical. **_

**Thanks. This is all because of my magnificent powers of observation, you know.**

_**I'm sure. **_

Hmm. At least they weren't arguing.

Gaara shut the door to his room and climbed onto his bed, beginning to ponder this new feeling he'd discovered. It didn't fall under the category of anger, he was relatively sure; it was more frustration than anything. Still, there was more to it, something underneath it all, something that built up steam and burned up his insides.

And this unnamed something could easily be credited to Sakura, but Gaara wasn't really even sure how that worked. It just did.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Sakura decided that she needed some talking time with her bodyguard, with this boy who was suddenly so much more accessible. Once she got him started, Sakura had discovered that Kankuro was just bursting with details about Gaara's lifelong struggle with the world. All this information had only served to further inflame her nurturing soul; she really felt like giving out hugs at the moment, but only to the little boy who never got any.

Temari said nothing as Sakura got to her feet and ascended the stairs purposefully.

-----------------------

What a delicate knock. One might think doors are made of spun sugar with that kind of knock.

"Gaara?" Another light knock. "You there?"

His eyes shifted to rest on the door momentarily before grunting in response. A pink head slipped into the room, followed by the rest of the confusion that was Sakura.

"I could easily explain my catatonic state, but I fear your masculinity wouldn't like what I had to say."

Gaara found his eyes suddenly drifting back to Sakura's face. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The girl coughed. "Uh, nothing really. It's just that I asked about you today, and Kankuro told me a lot about your… well, for lack of a better word, _unfortunate_ past."

Gaara understood what she meant now. He considered his past to be quite pathetic in general (not counting all the hardcore killing, since there was too much of that to simply gloss over), but that didn't mean he enjoyed pity. And there wasn't a more suitable word than that to explain the Sakura he had encountered when he first walked in.

She was right. It did piss him off. Still, she _was_ a girl.

Then he blinked.

_Oy! Stop putting thoughts in my head, bastard._

**What? Girls are more weepy by nature. They also like to pity and coddle more than men. **

_**And I, on the side of reason, say that this merely implies something more about her feelings towards you.**_

_Ah, ah, ah. Shush. I'm not listening to any of my own advice concerning _that_, remember?_

_**Your sister talks exactly like we do and you listen to **_**her**_**. Why not trust your own instincts? **_

_Ha. Far too many reasons._

His voices had become so chatty that Gaara didn't notice Sakura climbing onto the bed beside him. Well, not until she was firmly settled, that is.

"Hey! Go to your own bed if you're tired."

Her dark form was stretched across the mattress, head cushioned on her arms so she could see out the window. The moon was beginning to rise, and its light made a soft halo around her face.

"What does it matter? It's not like _you_ sleep here." He highly doubted she could see him with her face in the light like it was, but her vibrant eyes at least managed to focus in his general direction. "Besides, I've read through all the books I borrowed."

"Go get some more, then."

"My eyes are tired."

"Then go to bed."

"No." She shut her eyes. "Talk."

Gaara blinked. "What?"

"Just talk. I feel like listening at the moment. It can be about whatever you want. Please?"

So Gaara did.

-------------------------------

Yeah, so cutting there because it feels right. All in all, not much of an addition, but it makes the chapter a bit better, I think.

And yeah, Gaara's a spaz.

"It was the feelings, man!"


End file.
